UC-NRLF 

SB    3E    751 

OH}*  IttUKttttg  af  Cijtraau 


THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ 
FROM  1514  TO  1589 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY 

OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND  LITERATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  HISTORY 


BY 
liiiLEN  BOYCE 


QJtjp  QJullrgtatr  Vctta 

GEORGE  BANTA  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

MENASHA,  WISCONSIN 

1.920 


EXCHANGE 


Oltf?  Umitrrstig  of  (EJfirago 


THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ 
FROM  1514  TO  1589 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY 

OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND  LITERATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE«DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  HISTORY 


BY 
HELEN  BOYCE 


GEORGE  BANTA  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
MENASHA,  WISCONSIN 

1920 


PREFACE 

The  purpose  of  this  essay  is  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  English 
reader  to  the  historical  importance  of  German  mining.  This 
branch  of  economic  history  has  been  the  object  of  much  study 
in  Germany,  but  except  the  brief  references  made  by  Mr.  G.  R. 
Lewis  in  The  Stanneries  and  the  introduction  and  notes  in  the 
Hoover  translation  of  Agricola's  De  Re  Metallica  I  know  of  noth- 
ing in  English  on  the  subject. 

Germany  included  within  its  boundaries  the  most  important 
metal  producing  centers  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  from  them  ore  was 
exported  to  France  and  England.  Moreover,  the  possession  of 
great  quantities  of  silver  gave  Germany  an  independence  in 
solving  the  difficult  problems  of  currency  which  was  shared  by 
no  other  country  of  northern  Europe.  The  mines  not  only  brought 
material  prosperity,  but  played  a  part  in  that  most  important 
phase  of  German  history,  the  eastern  colonization  movement. 
For  it  was  the  discovery  of  ore  in  the  Erzgebirge  which  lured 
trained  miners  in  great  numbers,  from  the  west  to  the  mark  of 
Meissen,  Bohemia,  Hungary  and  Silesia.  The  importance  of 
these  mines  in  the  eyes  of  the  sovereign  is  to  be  measured  by  the 
privileges  granted  to  the  workers  which  at  the  best  spelled 
practical  self-government.  As  a  result  of  the  careful  regulation  of 
the  industry  great  codes  of  mining  laws  were  developed. 

A  general  introductory  chapter  on  German  mining  is  included 
in  the  essay  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  present  study  is  con- 
cerned with  but  a  tiny  corner  of  a  great  and  important  field. 
The  history  of  the  Harz  mines  falls  into  two  periods.  The  first 
was  closed  by  the  Black  Death  (1347);  from  that  time  the  mines 
lay  idle  for  more  than  a  hundred  years  before  work  was  recommenced 
in  the  late  fifteenth  century.  Though  there  is  no  historical  con- 
tinuity between  the  two  periods,  the  inclusion  of  the  earlier  one 
seemed  justified  by  the  demands  of  the  subject  as  well  as  by  the 
plan  of  Hake's  chronicle  on  which  this  study  was  based. 

It  is  this  local,  contemporary  chronicle  of  the  Upper  Harz 
mines  in  the  sixteenth  century  which  has  made  possible  the  main 

iii 


461779 


IV  .  POSTSCRIPTUM 

part  of  this  essay,  the  more  intensive  survey  of  the  activities  of 
these  mines  during  a  prosperous  period  in  their  history.  Hake  was 
quoted  by  at  least  two  writers  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  parts 
of  his  chronicle  have  been  recently  used  by  Friedrich  Giinther  in 
local  studies.  But  the  chronicle  seemed  to  contain  greater  possi- 
bilities if  the  period  it  covered  could  be  treated  as  a  unit.  This 
period  chanced  to  include  the  reigns  of  two  princes  of  Brunswick, 
father  and  son,  whose  careers  offered  an  excellent  study  in  con- 
trasts. Under  the  father,  the  history  of  the  little  mining  towns 
was  frequently  involved  with  the  issues  of  the  Reformation 
struggle,  while  the  reign  of  his  son  fell  in  the  years  of  reaction 
which  followed  the  Peace  of  Augsburg.  The  attempt  has  been  to 
reproduce  a  cross-section  of  the  life  of  this  group  of  specialists: 
to  show  how  their  industry  depended  on  the  conditions  which 
governed  it  in  other  parts  of  the  Empire,  to  observe  the  share 
they  took  in  the  politics  of  their  age,  to  enter  into  their  spirit  of 
work  and  of  play,  and  to  understand  their  code  of  morals.  Finally, 
this  local  industry  has  been  shown  in  its  relation  to  the  business 
of  the  period  and  the  dependence  of  the  Harz  mines  on  the 
great  trade  routes  of  Germany  has  been  indicated. 

The  technical  processes  of  mining  have  been  regularly  neg- 
lected. 

Without  the  Hohenzollern  Library  at  Harvard  University  this 
study  would  have  been  impossible.  I  am  especially  indebted  to 
Mr.  A.  C.  Coolidge  for  the  generous  way  in  which  these  books 
were  placed  at  my  disposal,  and  to  Mr.  Roscoe  Pound  of  the 
Harvard  Law  School  who  imported  Wagner's  Corpus  Juris 
Metallici  for  my  use.  Calvor's  Historische  Nachricht  was  a  loan 
from  the  Columbia  University  library. 

Mr.  James  Westfall  Thompson  first  drew  my  attention  to 
Hake's  Chronicle.  Words  express  but  poorly  my  grateful  appre- 
ciation of  his  tireless  help  and  repeated  encouragement. 

HELEN  BOYCE. 

Chicago,  1919. 

POSTSCRIPTUM 

It  is  with  a  sentiment  of  poignancy  that  I  write  this  post- 
scriptum  to  the  preface  of  this  little  book.  For  it  is  the  work  of  a 
student  of  history  of  unusual  promise,  who  died  shortly  after  the 
completion  of  the  doctorate,  and  before  her  work  could  be  pub- 
lished. 


POSTSCRIPTUM  V 

Helen  Boyce  was  graduated  from  the  University  of  Chicago 
in  1905,  and  two  years  later  entered  the  graduate  school  as  a 
student  of  history,  archaeology  and  the  history  of  art.  Intervals 
of  teaching  from  time  to  time  interrupted  the  continuity  of  her 
studies,  so  that  a  decade  ensued  before  she  secured  the  higher 
degree.  She  was  a  teacher  for  a  time  in  the  Woman's  College  at 
Constantinople.  After  returning  to  this  country  she  taught  in 
the  Halstead  School  at  Yonkers,  N.  Y.  She  was  in  charge  of  the 
history  courses  in  the  Faulkner  School  in  Chicago  for  several 
years,  and  there,  as  elsewhere,  won  the  loving  respect  of  each 
associate  teacher  and  of  every  student  by  her  fairness,  for  her 
helpfulness,  for  her  loyal,  unselfish  interest  in  others,  and  above 
all  for  her  rare  scholarship.  From  the  beginning  Miss  Boyce 
was  distinguished  for  her  intellectual  ability,  her  proficiency  for 
research,  her  unusual  breadth  of  culture. 

Early  in  her  course  Miss  Boyce  manifested  special  interest 
in  the  history  of  the  later  middle  ages,  and  the  manuscript  whose 
character  and  history  she  has  related  fixed  this  determination. 
As  the  instructor  who  suggested  the  subject  of  the  dissertation 
and  guided  her  researches  more  than  any  other,  it  has  fallen 
to  my  lot  to  see  through  the  press  this  first — and  last — produc- 
tion of  one  whom  all  who  knew  her  must  feel  to  be  untimely  lost. 
Miss  Boyce  received  the  degree  of  doctor  of  philosophy  (magna 
cum  laude)  in  1917,  and  died  on  May  8,  1920. 

Una  dies  aperit,  conficit  una  dies. 

The  premature  termination  of  a  life  which  possessed  so  much 
promise  and  potency  for  larger  research  has  tragic  implications 
for  both  mind  and  heart.  One  who  knew  her  intimately  writes: 
"Her  gracious  charm  as  a  woman,  her  well-balanced  habits  of 
thinking,  her  quiet  power  in  the  expression  of  her  ideas,  gave  her 
a  place  as  a  teacher,  as  a  fellow-student  and  as  a  friend  that 
cannot  be  filled." 

I  have  added  a  few  notes,  especially  in  the  first  chapter, 
and  read  the  proofs;  but  I  have  taken  no  liberties  with  either 
text  or  notes  beyond  mere  typographical  correction. 

JAMES  WESTFALL  THOMPSON 


CONTENTS 

PREFACE 
INTRODUCTION 

PAGE 

THE  MINE  CHRONICLE  OF  HARDANUS  HAKE 
A  Descriptive  and  Critical  Study  of  the  Manuscript 1 

CHAPTER  I 

AN  HISTORICAL  SURVEY  OF  GERMAN  MINING 
The  Earliest  German  Mines — Spread  of  the  Industry  in  the  Empire — 

Ownership  and  Organization  of  Mines — Mining  Codes 6 

CHAPTER  II 

THE  HARZ  MINES  UNTIL  1347 

Discovery  of  Ore  in  the  Harz — The  Earliest  Miners — The  Rammelsberg 
Mine — Connection  of  the  Harz  District  with  Imperial  History — 
The  Black  Death 14 

CHAPTER  III 
THE  MINES  or  THE  UPPER  HARZ  UNDER  THE  DUCHESS  ELISABETH, 

1435-1520? 
Revival  of  the  Harz  Mines— Increase  of  Population 20 

CHAPTER  IV 
HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENB^TTEL,  1489-1568 

His  Inheritance  and  Quarrel  with  his  Brother  William 23 

The  Hildesheim  Feud 24 

The  Religious  Question 25 

Henry  and  the  City  of  Goslar— The  Rammelsberg  Mine 25 

Religion  and  Politics 

War  of  Pamphlets — Catholic  Union  Against  the  League  of  Schmal- 
kald — Protestant  Control  of  the  Brunswick  Lands — Henry's  Im- 
prisonment   30 

Henry  and  the  City  of  Brunswick 36 

Henry's  Later  Attitude  Toward  Religion 41 

The  Mines  of  the  Upper  Harz 

First  Mining  Ordinance  (1524)— The  Saxon  Code  of  1509— The 
Mine  Privileges  of  1524 — The  Mine  Privileges  of  1532— Henry's 
Later  Codes— The  Growth  of  Wildemann  and  Zellerfeld— The 

vii 


Vlll  CONTENTS 

Mines  Under  the  League  of  Schmalkald — The  Mines  after  Henry's 

Release— The  Privileges  of  1553,  1554,  and  1556 42 

Estimate  of  Henry's  Life  and  Character 63 

CHAPTER  V 
JULIUS,  DUKE  or  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBIJTTEL,  1528-1589 

Youth  and  Inheritance — The  Religious  Problem 66 

The  Mining  Activities  of  Julius 

New  Mines  and  Investors— The  Privileges  of  1578— The  Ordi- 
nances of  1579— The  Manufacture  of  the  Metal 68 

Salt  Works  and  Marble  Quarries 77 

The  Forest  Ordinances 78 

The  Use  of  Coal 78 

Julius'  Disposal  of  his  Wares 79 

Julius  and  the  City  of  Brunswick 81 

Internal  Improvements 82 

Heinrichstadt •. 85 

Julius  and  Goslar 86 

Administration  of  the  Brunswick  Lands 87 

Extension  of  Territory 88 

Julius'  Lack  of  International  Interests  89 

The  Character  of  the  Period 91 

The  Character  of  Julius 91 

CHAPTER  VI 
LIFE  IN  THE  MINE  TOWNS  94 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  RELATION  OF  THE  HARZ  MINES  TO  TRADE  AND  TRADE  ROUTES 
Trade  Routes  Through  Germany — Location  of  the  Harz  Mountains — 
Importance  of  Brunswick  and  Goslar — Roads  Through  the  Harz — 
Messenger  Service — Highway  Robbery — Products  of  North  Ger- 
many—Markets and  Fairs 101 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  112 

INDEX  119 


INTRODUCTION 
THE  MINE  CHRONICLE  OF  HARDANUS  HAKE 

This  study  is  based  on  a  chronicle  of  the  Upper  Harz  Mines 
which  covers  the  years  from  1505  until  1583.  It  was  written  in  the 
sixteenth  century  by  Hardanus  Hake,  the  pastor  of  one  of  the 
towns  of  the  district.  The  main  portion  of  the  chronicle  was  pub- 
lished for  the  first  time  in  1911  under  the  title  Die  Bergchronik 
des  Hardanus  Hake,  Pastors  zu  Wildemann  and  was  edited  by 
Dr.  H.  Denker  of  Osnabriick.1  The  work  was  originally  divided 
into  three  parts  of  which  only  the  third  is  published.2  The  first, 
a  short  chronicle  of  the  Saxon  house  within  whose  dominions 
the  Harz  mines  were  included,  has  disappeared.3  The  second, 
dealing  chiefly  with  Biblical  references  to  mining,  has  no 
historical  value  and  is  omitted  by  Dr.  Denker.  The  third  and 
most  important  part  of  the  work  begins  with  an  historical  sketch 
outlining  what  little  is  known  of  the  Harz  mines  from  their  open- 
ing in  the  tenth  century  until  work  in  them  was  stopped  by 
the  Black  Death  in  1347.  The  chronicle  proper  covers  the 
period  from  the  revival  of  work  in  the  Upper  Harz  mines 
towards  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  until  1583.4  These 
mines  lay  in  that  section  of  the  Saxon  lands  which  came  into  the 

1  The  frequent  references  to  this  edition  will  be  to  Hake,  Bergchronik. 
The  work  is  cited  in  Praun,   Bibliographie  Braunschweig-Lilneburg,  Wolfen- 
blittel,  1744,  No.  700:    "S.  Hardanus  Hake  Pastor  zum  Wildemann,  Chronica 
der  Bergwercke  zu  Goslar,  Cellerfeld,  Wildemann,  Grund  und  Lautenthal. 
Ms.  1617."    Portions  of  the  chronicle  are  to  be  found  in  Briickmann's  Mag- 
nalia  Dei  in  locis  subterraneis  II.    Wolfenbiittel,  1730.     Several  anecdotes 
taken  from  it  are  printed  in  the  Neues  Vaterlandische  Archiv  des  Konigreichs 
Hannover,  1829,  under  the  title  Harzreise  Heinrich  der  Jiingere,  but  no 
author  is  mentioned.  Giinther  has  published  in  the  Zeitschrift  des  Harz  Vereins 
for    1906    the    charters    of    1532,    1553,    and    1556,   all    of  which  form 
part  of  the  chronicle.    This  material  has  been  used  as  a  principal  source  by 
various  writers,  among  them,  Henning  Calvor  in  his  Historisch-Chronologi- 
schen  Na-chricht    des    Maschinenwesens    auf    dent    Oberharze,    Brunswick, 
1763,    and  his  Nachricht  von  den  Unter   und  Oberharzischen  Bergwercken, 
Brunswick,    1765    and    R.  L.  Honemann  in  his  Alterthumer  des  Harzes. 
Leipzig,  1827.    See  H.  Z.  1907,  88.    Denker,  Einige  Bemerkungen,  etc. 

2  Hake,  Bergchronik,  108,  26. 
8  Ibid.,  IV  and  XII. 

4  The  earliest  date  found  in  this  portion  of  the  work  is  1505. 

1 


d*  *Hi5  typpEk  HARZ,  1514-1589 


possession  of  the  Wolfenbiittel  line  of  the  house  of  Brunswick  and 
the  period  covered  by  Hake  corresponds  roughly  with  the  reigns 
of  Henry  the  Younger  and  his  son  Julius  (1514-1589). 

The  original  of  the  mine  chronicle  has  been  lost.  Nine 
manuscript  copies  of  it  are  known  to  Dr.  Denker.5  These  he 
divides  into  two  classes  according  as  they  contain  or  do  not  con- 
tain part  two.6  They  are  to  be  found  at  Berlin,  Hanover,  Clausthal 
and  in  other  German  libraries,  and  were  written  between  1617  and 
1720.  A  tenth  manuscript  of  the  chronicle  is  owned  by  the 
University  of  Chicago.7  This  is  written  on  paper  and  contains 
140  folios  33x20.6  centimeters  in  size  which  bear  modern  pencilled 
numbers.  It  was  bound  in  boards  after  the  writing  was  com- 
pleted. The  written  label  is  illegible.  The  first  16  folios  contain 
the  Kirchen,  Schul  and  Spital  Ordnung  written  in  1551  for  the 
Protestants  of  Joachimsthal  in  Bohemia  by  Johannes  Mathesius.8 

In  the  Chicago  manuscript  Hake's  chronicle,  chiefly  in  Ger- 
man, is  written  in  three  different  hands.  It  includes  part  two  as 
well  as  part  three,  but  they  are  not  chronologically  arranged.  The 
first  entry  (folio  19  recto)  begins  "Rammelsbergische  bergwerk 
last  sich  ao  1527  wohl  an."  This  division  of  the  work,  part  of  it 
in  Latin,  is  hastily  and  illegibly  written,  and  is  much  abbreviated. 
Many  pages  have  been  torn  out.  It  covers  the  years  from 
1527  to  1583,  and  belongs  therefore  to  part  three.  Part  two 
(beginning  on  folio  45  recto)  is  in  small  legible  writing  and  is 
entitled  "Von  Aufkomen  der  Bergwercke  Steigens  undt  fallens 
von  Ambts  Personen  und  Geschichte  der  Bergstadte,"  with  the 
subtitle  "Wie  Adam  und  Adams  Kinder  Bergwerck  gebauet 
fur  der  Sundfluth."9  Part  three  (folio  60  verso)  begins  in  the 

6  Hake,  Bergchronik,  XIV. 

6  X  and  Z.  Ibid.,  XV. 

7  This  manuscript  was  in  the  collection  purchased  in  1892  by  the  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago  from  S.  Calvary  and  Company,  Berlin.    It  has  not  been 
possible  to  learn  from  whom  Calvary  acquired  it.    It  is  number  68  in  A 
Descriptive  Catalogue  of  Manuscripts  in  the  Libraries  of  the  University  of 
Chicago,  by  E.  J.  Goodspeed. 

8  This  is  not  in  the  handwriting  of  Mathesius,  as  Goodspeed  suggests, 
op.  cit.t  88.  G.  Loesche  in  his  Johannes  Mathesius,  Gotha,  1895,  gives  a  speci- 
men of  the  preacher's  writing.    In  the  Chicago  manuscript  under  the  title, 
folio  1,  appear  the  words  "gestelt  durch  den  altenn  Herrn  Johann  Mathesius" 
which  he  would  hardly  have  written  himself. 

9  This  introductory  portion  of  the  work  occurs  also  in  the  manuscript  in 
the  Landesgeologischen  Anstalt  und  Bergakademie  in  Berlin,  and  in  that  in 


THE  MINE  CHRONICLE  OF  HARDANUS  HAKE  3 

same  writing,  with  the  heading  "Von  Aufkomen  der  Bergwercke 
am  Hartze  dieses  Fiirstenthumb."10  The  main  division  of  the 
chronicle  (folio  76  recto)  fills  the  rest  of  the  book  and  is  in  a  third 
handwriting  which  is  flowing  and  legible  (to  folio  140  verso). 
Without  title,  the  incipit  runs,  "nach  dieser  Zeit  und  Letzten 
auflaszung  sind  die  Bergwercke  eine  geraume  lange  Zeit  sonder- 
lichen  bey  uns  hier  auf  dem  Hartze  dieser  jetzigen  Bergstadte 
ungebauet  beliegen  blieben."  The  earliest  date  in  this  part  is 
1505  and  the  narrative  continues  through  the  events  of  the  year 
1568. ll  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  years  from  1527  until  1568 
are  covered  twice.  The  later  entry  is  the  expansion  of  the  first 
brief,  hasty  notes  but  contains  no  new  material.  It  has  marginal 
notes  in  Latin  and  German  in  the  handwriting  of  the  first  entry. 
Here  and  there  parts  are  missing.  The  most  important  omissions 
from  the  Chicago  manuscript  are  found  in  Dr.  Denker's  edition 
page  79  line  40  to  page  85  line  10  and  page  117,  to  the  end.12 

The  author's  name  is  found  once  in  this  copy  where  the  entry 
for  1572  speaks  of  "autor  hujig  operis  (Hardang  Hake)."13 

The  approximate  date  of  this  manuscript  may  be  learned  from 
the  water-marks.  Of  the  three  different  kinds  of  paper  on  which 
Hake's  chronicle  is  written,  the  oldest,  (folio  19  to  45)  was  used 
for  documents  of  1661  and  1662  and  is  marked  with  the  unicorn.14 
The  "Wildermanne  Glocke"  with  a  standing  gnome  and  the  letters 
A  H  H  B  on  one  side  of  the  sheet  and  a  bell  surmounted  by  a 

the    archives    at    Hanover.     See  Hake,  Bergchronik,   XII,   and  Gttnther 
Die  Griindung  der  Bergstadt  Grund.  H.  Z.  1906,  44. 

10  That  portion  of  the  chronicle  which,  in  Denker's  edition  is  found  on 
pages  20  to  32  is  missing  in  the  Chicago  copy. 

11  The  following  diagram  illustrates  the  relationship  between  Dr.  Denker's 
edition  and  the  Chicago  manuscript. 

Denker  Chicago  MS 

I.  Lost  in  all  manuscripts. 

II.  Not  published  by  Denker.        II.  Folio  45  recto  to  folio  60  verso. 
III.  Pages  1  to  151.  III.  Folio  60  verso  to  folio  140  verso  (1568) 

and 
Folio  19   recto    (1527)    to   folio   42 

verso  (1583). 

11  It  has  not  seemed  important  to  discuss  the  slight  details  in  which  the 
Chicago  manuscript  varies  from  the  version  printed  by  Dr.  Denker. 

18  Folio  37  recto.  The  name  does  not  appear  in  the  manuscripts  known 
to  Dr.  Denker. 

14  Mathesius'  Kurzer  Berickt  is  on  a  fourth  sort  of  paper  which  it  has 
not  been  possible  to  identify  satisfactorily. 


4  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514r~1589 

crown  on  the  other  (folio  45  to  75),  is  found  in  paper  which  was 
used  from  1707  until  1730.  The  third  sort  of  paper  (folio  76  to  the 
end)  has  R.  W.  on  one  side  and  a  bear  within  a  circle  on  the  other. 
Large  quantities  of  this  paper  were  made  in  1719  and  it  was  used 
for  local  documents  from  1709  until  1723.15  Another  clue  to  the 
date  of  the  Chicago  manuscript  is  a  marginal  note  (folio  80  verso) 
in  the  handwriting  of  the  first  entry  "Epitaphium  quod  Pastor 
Alshuhang  in  ejg  memoriam  scripsit  vide  apud  Rehtmeier  Aut. 
Brunsv.  lib  3,  cap.  56."  The  only  edition  of  Rehtmeier's  Chronica 
Braunschweig-Luneburg  was  printed  in  1722.  The  conclusion  is 
then,  that  the  Chicago  copy  of  the  chronicle  like  those  in  Berlin 
and  in  Clausthal  was  made  shortly  before  1725.  The  original 
work  contained  198  pages  and  occasional  references  to  it  are  made 
in  the  Chicago  manuscript.16 

The  period  at  which  Hake  wrote  his  chronicle  may  also  be 
somewhat  definitely  fixed.  In  all  parts  of  the  work  frequent 
mention  is  made,  not  only  of  Duke  Henry  and  Duke  Julius,  but 
of  rulers  over  other  parts  of  the  Brunswick  lands  who  lived  during 
the  sixteenth  century.17  There  are  several  references  by  which 
the  date  can  be  more  exactly  determined.  For  instance  the 
author  speaks  of  the  "district  of  Duke  Wulff  and  Duke  Philip." 
These  princes  were  of  the  Grubenhagen  line,  and  the  last  of  them 
died  in  1596,  in  which  year  the  house  of  Brunswick- Wolf en- 
biittel  inherited  their  property.18  The  entry  for  the  year  1536 
speaks  of  "Michel  Dannenberger  now  the  judge  of  this  mine 
city  of  Wildemann."19  Dannenberger  held  this  office  in  1581 
and  1582.20  Again,  Hake  mentions  as  still  living,  Duke  Erich  of 

15  For  this  information  I  am  deeply  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Herr 
Oberbergamts  Secret ar  F.  Muhlan  who  graciously  looked  up  the  water-marks 
in  the  library  at  Clausthal  where  there  is  a  manuscript  list  with  draw- 
ings of  the  water-marks  found  on  documents  of  the  Upper  Harz  from  1600 
until  1750.    This  was  made  by  the  late  Herr  Berghauptmann  Achenbach. 
See  also  H.Z.  1906,  43,  and  Denker,  op.  cit.,  88.    If  I  am  right  in  thinking 
that  the  marginal  notes  of  the  last  entry  are  in  the  handwriting  of  the  first  one, 
the  paper  used  for  the  hasty  notes  covering  the  years  1527  to  1583  (folio  19  to 
45)  was  old  when  the  writing  was  done.    There  is  a  period  of  about  sixty 
years  between  the  making  of  the  two  papers. 

16  Denker,  op.  cit.,  91. 

17  Examples  are  to  be  found  in  the  Bergchronik,  16,  39;  17,  27;  18, 18,  etc. 

18  Hake,  Bergchronik,  18,  18,  and  Denker  op.  cit.,  93. 

19  Hake,  Bergchronik,  43,  24. 
80  Ibid.,  XL 


THE  MINE  CHRONICLE  OF  HARDANUS  HAKE  5 

Calenberg  who  died  in  1584.21  While  writing  of  the  year  1578 
the  author  speaks  of  officials  "who  have  remained  until  this  time, 
year  '83."22  The  conclusion  then,  is  that  the  original  work  was 
written  between  1581  and  1583. 

The  spirit  of  the  chronicle  bespeaks  careful,  painstaking 
authorship.  For  the  introduction  Hake  uses  such  well  known 
authorities  as  Tacitus,  Otto  of  Freising,  Thietmar,  Lambert  of 
Hersfeld  and  Sebastian  Minister  and  frequently  cites  exact 
references,  which  are  accurate  so  far  as  it  has  been  possible  to 
verify  them.  For  the  chronicle  itself  there  is  abundant  evidence 
that  Hake  had  access  to  the  official  mine  records.  He  often  refers 
to  the  "Bergbuch,"  to  the  "Recessbuch,"  and  to  the  "Fiirstlichen 
Geschichten."23  He  also  speaks  of  a  history  "so  incerto  autore."24 

Hake  was  the  only  historian  of  the  Upper  Harz  district  for  his 
period.  The  story  of  his  uneventful  life  is  told  in  an  autobiograph- 
ical sketch  found  by  Dr.  Denker  in  the  archives  at  Wolfenbiittel.28 
German  by  birth,  Hake  was  installed  as  Lutheran  pastor  at  Wilde- 
mann  in  1572.  The  date  of  his  death  is  not  known  but  in  1610  he 
was  no  longer  in  office.26  Of  himself  he  wrote:  "I  wandered  to 
inspect  cities  and  country,  and  also  to  learn  what  things  were 
happening  here  and  there."  On  his  return  from  these  travels  he 
settled  at  Wildemann  where  he  spent  more  than  a  year  in  writing 
his  chronicle.27  This  was  dedicated  to  Julius,  the  reigning  duke  of 
Brunswick- Wolfenbuttel,  to  whom  Hake  sent  the  manuscript. 
The  only  other  work  by  Hake  which  has  been  preserved  is  the 
funeral  sermon  which  he  preached  for  Duke  Julius.  This  was 
printed  and  seems  to  have  been  well  known.  In  praising  what  this 
prince  had  done  for  his  duchy,  Hake  again  took  occasion  though 
less  fully  than  in  his  chronicle,  to  discuss  the  mines  of  the  Upper 
Harz.28 

n  Hake,  Bergchronik,  33,  42. 

»/Wd.f  114,  18. 

» Ibid.,  36,  42;  41,  32;  44,  35;  52,  17;  48,  8,  etc. 

"Ibid.,  4,  22. 

*  This  is  published  in  Hake,  Bergchronik,  III  ff. 

*  F.  Gunther,  Zur  Kritik  der  Hakeschen  Chronik  H.  Z.  1906,  42;  H.  Den- 
ker, op.  cit.t  91;  Hake,  Bergchronik  VI. 

87  Ibid.,  IV. 

M  Cited  by  P.  J.  Rehtmeier,  Braunschweig-Liineburgische  Chronica,  1008. 
Though  this  sermon  was  printed,  only  one  copy  of  it  is  known  to  Denker. 
This  is  in  the  archives  at  Wolfenbuttel.  Hake,  Bergchronik,  VII. 


CHAPTER  I 

AN  HISTORICAL  SURVEY  OF  GERMAN  MINING 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Romans  conducted  mining  operations 
within  the  lands  which  in  later  centuries  constituted  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire,  but  it  is  impossible  to  establish  any  connection 
between  Roman  and  German  mining.1  Accounts  of  the  industry 
under  the  Merovingian  and  Carolingian  rulers  are  so  rare  that  it 
probably  was  of  no  great  importance  down  to  the  end  of  the  latter 
period.2  Mines  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Empire,  in  Styria, 
Salzburg  and  the  Tirol  were  worked  earlier  than  the  tenth  cen- 
tury,3 but  in  the  north  the  mineral  deposits  were  unused  until 
towards  the  end  of  the  tenth  century,  when,  under  Otto  the 
Great  the  Rammelsberg  mine  near  Goslar  in  the  Harz  was  first 
opened.4  The  mines  in  the  mark  of  Meissen  date  from  the  middle 
of  the  twelfth  century5  and  those  of  Bohemia  and  Silesia  from  the 
beginning  of  the  thirteenth.6  The  industry  became  from  the  end 
of  the  twelfth  century  an  important  feature  in  German  economic 
history. 

The  astonishing  spread  of  mining  in  the  Empire  is  to  be  inter- 
preted as  part  of  the  eastward  expansion  of  the  Germans  by  which 
the  Slavs  were  driven  back  beyond  the  Oder.6*  The  first  miners 
in  the  Harz  were  of  Prankish  stock,  but  the  place  from  which  they 
emigrated  is  not  certainly  known.7  According  to  a  generally 
accepted  tradition  miners  from  the  Harz  in  the  twelfth  century, 

1  Schmoller,    Die  Geschichtliche  Entwickelung  der  Unternehmung.    Jahr- 
buch  f  ttr  Gesetzgebung,  XV,  675,  also  Ermisch,    Das  S&chsische  Bergrecht 
des  Mittelalters.    IX. 

2  Ibid.,  X. 

8  Inama-Sternegg,  Deutsche  Wirtschaftsgeschichte,  II,  330. 

4  Co.  970.    For  the  evidence  see  Waitz,  Jahrbiicher  des  Deutschen  Reich* 
unter  K'dnig  Heinrich  I,  238. 

5  Ore  was  discovered  at  Freiberg  ca  1170. 
•  Ermisch.  op.  «/.,  XIII,  XIV. 

6a  See  J.  W.  Thompson,  East  German  Colonization  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
Annual  Rep.  Amer.  Hist.  Assoc.  1915,  123-50. 

7  Hake,  Bergchronik,  2  ff.  This  rests  on  the  statement  made  in  the 
Annalista  Saxo  written  in  the  twelfth  century.  Monumenta  Germaniae 
Historica,  VI,  660.  Henry  II  in  1009  granted  the  Rammelsberg  to  Gundel- 
carl,  a  Frank.  For  a  discussion  of  this  problem  see  infra,  15. 


AN  HISTORICAL  SURVEY  OF  GERMAN  MINING  7 

were  the  first  to  discover  ore  in  the  district  about  Freiberg.8  A 
rush  of  German  miners  east  to  the  Erzgebirge  followed  and  by 
1225  Freiberg  was  a  flourishing  city.9  But  the  mark  of  Meissen 
was  not  assured  to  the  Germans  until  the  discovery  of  silver  at 
Schneeberg  about  1460  brought  a  second  influx  of  colonists 
from  the  west.  Franks  also  carried  their  technical  knowledge 
from  Saxony  to  Bohemia  and  Hungary,  where  Schemnitz,  a 
famous  mining  town,  bears  the  name  of  a  Saxon  river.10  In  southern 
Hungary  mining  had  probably  not  been  interrupted  since  Roman 
times.11  The  indications  are  that  the  gold  mines  in  Silesia  were 
opened  by  men  of  Frankish  blood.  Evidence  that  the  miners  were 
a  wandering  class  is  seen  in  the  names  hospites  and  coloni  by  which 
they  were  known,  and  it  was  not  until  the  sixteenth  century  that 
German  mining  lost  this  character  of  a  colonizing  movement.12 

The  earliest  documentary  proofs  of  German  mining  date  from 
the  twelfth  century  and  multiply  rapidly  between  1200  and  1400.13 
Of  these,  the  charter  of  Trent  (1185),  that  of  Goslar  (1219-1350), 
the  mining  law  of  Iglau  (1249-1300),  the  Kuttenberger  regulations 
(1300)  and  the  law  of  Freiberg  (1296-1400)  are  the  most  impor- 
tant. 

Some  mines  were  in  the  possession  of  the  nsc,  while  others 
belonged  to  territorial  lords  both  lay  and  clerical.  For  the  Carol- 
ingian  period  it  is  impossible  to  determine  whether  this  ownership 
of  mines  went  with  ownership  of  the  soil  or  was  an  element  of 
sovereignty.14  Under  Frederick  I,  (1152-1190)  the  principle  was 
established  that  mines,  even  on  private  lands  were  a  legitimate 

8  Ermisch,  op.  cit.,  XVI;  Agricola,  De  Re  Metallica,  Ed.  by  H.  C.  and 
L.  H.  Hoover,  36,  n.  16. 

9  Lamprecht,  Deutsche  Geschichte,  III,  362. 

10  Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  677,  speaks  of  these  men  as  "Frfcnkische  Siedler" 
but  says  nothing  of  their  place  of  origin. 

11  Arndt,  Bergbau  and  Bergbau  Politik,  11. 

12  Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  677. 
18  Ibid.,  661. 

14  Inama-Sternegg,  op.  cit.,  II,  331.  The  question  of  the  ownership  of 
mines  has  been  much  disputed.  The  position  taken  here  is  that  held  by  most 
recent  writers.  For  a  discussion  of  the  subject  see  Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  669  and 
following,  especially  the  note  on  page  694.  The  lead  and  iron  mines  men- 
tioned in  the  Capitulary  de  mills  regiis  of  Charlemagne  were  in  the  nature  of 
the  case,  on  land  owned  by  the  king.  See  Zycha,  Das  Recht  des  dltestcn 
deutschen  Bergbaues,  14;  Agricola,  De  Re  Metallica,  Hoover's  translation, 
82,  note. 


8  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

source  of  public  revenue.15  Hoover,  in  his  translation  of  De  Re 
Metallica,  says:  The  charters  "contain,  nevertheless,  rigorous  reser- 
vation of  the  regalian  right.  The  landlord,  where  present,  was 
usually  granted  some  interest  in  the  mine,  but  had  to  yield  to  the 
miner  free  entry.  The  miner  was  simply  a  sort  of  tributer  to  the 
Crown,  loaded  with  an  obligation  when  upon  private  lands  to  pay  a 
further  portion  of  his  profits  to  the  landlord."  Probably  this  was 
not  an  innovation  and  from  the  beginning  mines  had  been  recog- 
nized as  belonging  to  the  ruler.  However  this  may  be,  the 
principle  of  Barbarossa  gained  acceptance  and  the  sovereign 
was  recognized  as  sole  proprietor  of  all  mines  whether  he 
owned  the  surface  under  which  they  lay  or  not.  He  alone  had 
power  to  grant  to  individuals  the  right  to  work  mines  in  those 
cases  where  he  did  not  carry  on  the  industry  himself.  When 
he  leased  a  mine  it  was  divided  into  shares,  part  of  which  he 
kept;  he  also  retained  oversight  of  the  work  through  his  power  to 
appoint  officials.16  In  the  Empire  the  rulers  gradually  ceased  to 
exploit  the  mines  themselves;  instead,  they  gran  ted  this  right  to 
associations,  at  the  same  time  maintaining  a  sort  of  supervision 
of  the  work. 

In  spite  of  variations  among  the  few  twelfth  century  sources, 
it  is  clear  that  even  at  that  period  mining  was  conducted  by  an 
association  in  which  a  real  principle  of  organization  existed,  and 
that  thus  a  technically  trained  stock  of  miners  was  developed.17 
The  mining  regulations  of  the  thirteenth  century  throw  some  light 
on  an  earlier  phase  and  reflect  a  period  from  which  we  have  no 
records  in  which  the  prince  worked  his  own  mine  by  the  labor  of 
his  own  people.18  In  other  words,  the  earliest  German  mines  were 
feudal  enterprises.  The  lords  of  the  Middle  Ages  habitually  gave 
out  from  90  to  95%  of  their  land  in  exchange  for  service  or  rent 
and  the  mines  are  to  be  numbered  among  such  fiefs.  When 
land  was  given  to  strong  men  they,  in  turn,  were  allowed  to  sublet 
mining  and  smelting  rights.19  Though  these  concessions  in  no 
way  implied  ownership,  the  lessees  gradually  gained  freedom  from 
taxation,  at  the  same  time  decreasing  the  amount  of  their  pay- 

"  Lewis,  The  Stanneries,  68. 

16  Ibid.,  69. 

17  Inama-Sternegg,  op.  cit.t  II,  338. 

18  SchmoUer,  op.  cit.,  670. 
» Ibid.,  676. 


AN  HISTORICAL  SURVEY  OF  GERMAN  MINING  9 

ments  of  ore  to  the  lord.20  From  this  right  of  granting  mines  the 
lords  obtained  great  influence  over  their  management  as  well  as 
over  their  output.21  This  second  stage  in  the  evolution  of  Ger- 
man mining,  in  which  territorial  lords  leased  their  ore  bearing 
lands,  brought  about  the  organization  of  the  lessees  into  self- 
governing  associations,  each  of  which  controlled  its  own  mine. 
This  organization  formed  the  germ  of  the  later  company  and  from 
the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century  left  the  older  manage- 
ment by  the  lord  in  obscurity.22  It  was  inevitable  that  as  mining 
developed  and  greater  engineering  undertakings,  such  as  the  build- 
ing of  galleries,  became  necessary,  permanent  holdings  and  larger 
capital  were  essential.  Under  these  conditions  the  tendency  was 
for  the  lord  to  take  charge  of  operations.  He  was  represented  by 
officials  and  the  embryo  company  also  retained  its  organization; 
but  gradually  the  free  workers  instead  of  being  paid  a  proportion- 
ate share  of  ore,  were  degraded  until  by  the  fifteenth  century 
they  had  become  mere  wage  earners.23  As  mining  proceeded  on  a 
larger  scale,  the  size  of  holdings  increased  and  it  became  impossible 
for  one  man  to  work  his  own  share  unaided.  Through  his  right 
to  sublet  the  whole  grant,  two  classes  developed,  the  associates 
who  did  no  manual  work,  and  the  hired  laborers.24  "By  1400  it 
was  the  exception  if  actual  workers  owned  any  considerable  shares 
in  the  mine."26  Though  a  laborer  might  better  his  condition,  he 
rarely  became  a  member  of  the  company.  The  greater  number  of 
these  members  were  burghers  of  the  mine  city;  in  fact  to  become  a 
burgher  in  such  a  city  it  was  necessary  to  own  shares  or  carry  on 
some  mining  enterprise.26 

As  has  been  seen,  the  spread  of  German  mining  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  part  of  a  colonization  movement.  To  attract  and  retain 
these  valuable  skilled  laborers  the  territorial  lords  found  it  neces- 
sary to  make  a  privileged  class  of  them.  These  privileges  given  to 
miners  were  "exemptions  from  the  common  law,  for  those  who 
were  ready  to  begin  at  their  own  risk,  mining  operations  for  their 

10  Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  671. 

11  Inama-Sternegg,  op.  cit.,  Ill  part  2,  148. 
» Ibid.,  Ill,  part  2,  152. 

83  Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  686. 

14  Inama-Sternegg,  op.  cit.,  Ill,  part  2,  159. 

*  Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  705. 

« Ibid.,  706. 


10  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,   1514-1589 

own  profit  and  that  of  the  lord."27  These  inducements  were 
intended  to  decoy  to  the  east  trained  workers  from  the  older  mines 
of  the  west.  Among  the  lures  offered  by  the  lord  were  freedom 
of  the  person  and  of  justice  and  the  free  use  of  wood  and  water. 
The  first  of  these  privileges  was  issued  by  the  bishop  of  Trent  in 
1185.  When  the  development  was  successful  a  group  of  mines 
was  raised  to  the  status  of  a  free  mine  city,  the  highest  advance- 
ment open  to  this  industry.28  In  such  cases  the  miners  were  pro- 
tected by  town  law  as  well  as  by  their  own  codes,  and  were 
exempted  from  taxes  and  military  service  and  were  allowed  to 
slaughter,  to  bake  and  to  brew.  They  were  freed  from  the  control 
of  gilds.  In  the  fifteenth  century  Freiberg,  Goslar,  Iglau  and 
Kuttenberg  were  among  the  mine  cities.  Where  there  was  no 
fusion  of  city  and  mine,  the  mine  judge  had  charge  of  all  matters 
of  justice  and  organized  all  who  were  connected  with  the  mine 
into  a  special  court  for  the  decision  of  local  cases.  The  importance 
of  mining  law  is  to  be  correctly  understood  only  when  it  is  kept 
in  mind  that  the  judge  through  his  decisions  and  the  principles 
laid  down  in  them  moulded  the  condition  of  the  workers,  the 
organization  of  the  business  and  the  government  of  the  com- 
munity. 

The  thirteenth  century  was  the  first  great  period  of  prosperity 
for  German  mining,  and  particularly  for  silver  mining.29  The 
succeeding  century  though  important  in  some  places,  was  on  the 
whole  a  time  of  retrogression.  The  cause  of  this  decline  was  that 
the  simple  technique  of  the  earlier  phase  used  only  the  surface 
ore  and  exhausted  a  mine  within  two  or  three  generations.  A 
second  and  more  profitable  period  which  lasted  from  1480  to  1570 
was  due  to  such  technical  advances  as  the  introduction  of  water 
power  and  the  building  of  great  galleries  which  made  it  possible 
to  use  the  ore  which  lay  far  below  the  surface.  But  in  spite  of  such 
improvements  no  mine  was  at  its  best  for  longer  than  a  century. 
Numerous  new  localities  were  also  opened  to  the  industry  at 
about  the  time  of  the  Reformation.  This  second  period,  one  of 
great  economic  prosperity,  gave  birth  to  the  great  mining  codes 
which  lasted  down  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The 
mines  in  many  cases  were  an  important,  if  not  the  chief  source  of 

17  Schmoller,  op.  cit.}  676. 

28  Ibid.,  677;  Lewis,  op.  cit.,  73. 

19  Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  963,  964,  965. 


AN  HISTORICAL  SURVEY  OF  GERMAN  MINING  11 

wealth  for  many  rulers  and  as  such  were  most  carefully  controlled 
by  law.  Most  influential  were  the  regulations  of  Maximilian  I  of 
Austria  and  the  Saxon  codes  dating  from  1479  to  1589.  From  the 
latter  are  derived  almost  all  the  later  ordinances  of  middle  and 
north  Germany.30  Simply  because  of  regalian  rights  in  mines 
Saxony  was,  with  the  exception  of  Austria,  the  richest  country  in 
the  Empire,31  but  the  Hapsburg  ambitions  outstripped  even  their 
great  wealth.  From  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  the  emper- 
ors borrowed  heavily  of  the  south  German  financiers,  the  Fuggers, 
mortgaging  for  this  purpose  the  regalian  rights  in  their  mines.32 
This  era  which  produced  the  great  mining  codes  of  Germany 
owed  its  impulse  to  the  production  of  silver  in  new  fields.33  The 
period  began  from  1460  to  1480,  was  at  its  height  from  1500  to 
1540,  and  lasted  through  the  century.  The  Saxon  ordinances 
issued  for  Annaberg  and  Joachimsthal  during  these  years  were 
used  as  models  by  most  German  princes.  Even  the  codes  for 
Salzburg,  the  Tirol  and  Bavaria  have  a  certain  connection  with 
them.34  These  regulations  have  a  tendency  to  generalize  for  a 
whole  district;  they  are  concerned,  not  with  matters  of  technique, 
but  with  the  rights  of  the  companies,  and  with  the  management. 
In  theory,  there  were  in  a  silver  mine  from  122  to  128  shares,  with 
an  equal  number  of  shareholders.  This  made  it  easier  to  get 
capital  and.  to  pay  the  temporary  subsidy  (Zubusse)  for  running 
expenses,  which  in  the  most  prosperous  periods  of  the  best  mines 
was  three  times  the  profit.35  Company  organization  was  necessary 
to  make  the  mine  profitable.  The  shares  might  be  owned  by  burgh- 
ers of  the  mine  city  itself,  or  by  the  corporation  of  a  neighboring 
or  even  of  a  distant  city.  The  well-known  case  of  the  operation 
by  Goslar  of  the  Rammelsberg  mine  is  an  example.36  Nuremberg 
and  Augsburg  early  had  shares  in  the  Saxon  silver  mines,  and  the 
copper  works  at  Eisleben  were  conducted  by  men  from  Nurem- 
berg.37 The  investment  of  foreign  capital  worked  hardship  in 

80  Ermisch,  op.  cit.,  CLXIV. 

81  Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  968. 
"Ibid.,  972. 

88  Ibid.,  979. 

84  Ibid.,  980,  981.    The  code  of  1517  for  Austria,  Steiermark,  Carinthia 
and  Carniola  is  the  first  example  of  an  ordinance  for  several  provinces. 
86  Ibid.,  986. 

86  Ibid.,  969.    Neuburg,  Goslars  Bergbau  bis  1552. 

87  Ehrenberg,  Das  Zeitalter  der  Fugger,  I,  189. 


12  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

taking  the  profits  out  of  the  district;  it  also  made  regular  book- 
keeping necessary  and  so  is  said  to  have  aided  the  spread  of  the 
Saxon  mining  codes.38 

The  custom  of  granting  mines  with  hereditary  rights  for  an 
indefinite  period,  persisted  well  into  the  fifteenth  century,39  when 
fixed  leases  for  a  definite  term  of  years  gradually  became  the 
custom.  This  made  a  great  difference  in  the  condition  of  the 
laborers  for  the  companies  controlling  the  good  mines  paid  entire- 
ly in  wages,  not  in  ore.40  Only  a  uniform  wage  could  make  the 
position  of  the  worker  sure,  for  this  class  had  suffered  greatly 
from  the  uncertainty  connected  with  the  sale  of  ore,  the  cost  of 
smelting,  etc.  In  the  sixteenth  century  work  in  the  Saxon  mines 
was  done  exclusively  by  contract,  while  in  Austria  the  old  system 
was  inextricably  entangled  with  the  new  method.41  Probably  it 
was  through  Saxon  influence  that  the  granting  of  fiefs  fell  into 
disuse  and  that  contracts  for  weekly  wages  based  on  the  output  of 
ore  took  their  place.  The  laborer  now  worked  for  assured  pay 
instead  of  assuming  the  risk  of  running  the  business. 

In  spite  of  this  security,  many  complaints  arose  over  the 
increased  cost  of  living  and  insufficient  wages.42  The  Peasants' 
Revolt  (1525)  of  course  made  for  unrest  in  Saxony,  northern  Bohe- 
mia and  the  Tirol.  The  result  of  such  disturbances  was  the 
miner's  law  (Bergarbeitsrecht)  whose  principles  remained  in  force 
until  186 1.48  On  the  whole,  though  difficulties  still  persisted, 
these  new  regulations  greatly  improved  the  condition  of  the 
miners  who  formed  a  privileged  and  self-respecting  class.  The 
well  known  Saxon  ordinances  provided  assistance  for  sick  work- 
men. A  fund  for  that  purpose  was  established  (Annaberg  1503) 
of  which  half  was  deducted  from  the  wages  of  the  miners  while 
half  came  from  the  profits  of  the  mine.  Labor  unions  or  brother- 
hoods of  the  diggers  and  smelters  were  formed.  The  twelve  oldest 
miners  acting  as  a  council  were  charged  with  the  settlement  of 
disputes  and  controlled  the  sick  fund.44 

"  Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  989. 
M  Ibid.,  1002. 

40  Ibid.,  1004. 

41  Ibid.,  1006. 

44  This  may  be  studied  in  Freiberg.    Ibid.,  1007. 
•  Ibid.,  1009. 
"IUd.,  1016. 


AN  HISTORICAL  SURVEY  OF  GERMAN  MINING  13 

The  organization  of  the  mining  company  in  the  sixteenth 
century  is  most  clearly  seen  in  the  ordinances  of  the  Erzge- 
birge.  The  board  (Bergamt)  at  Joachimsthal  was  composed  of 
the  chief  mine  officials,  a  jury  of  ten  of  the  most  intelligent  smel- 
ters and  miners,  and  some  other  persons.46  Some  of  the  higher 
mine  offices  carried  such  power  that  there  was  a  terrible 
temptation  to  misuse  it.46  Officials  grew  rich  by  reason  of  their 
positions.  The  ordinances  attempted  reform,  forbidding  office- 
holders to  own  shares  or  to  engage  in  business,  but  it  was  difficult 
to  enforce  the  new  regulations.  The  difficulties  experienced  by 
these  mining  companies  of  the  sixteenth  century  are  exactly 
those  which  stock  companies  and  large  associations  have  to 
deal  with  today.  Hundreds  of  people  knowing  nothing  of  the 
technical  side  of  the  business  are  in  the  company  simply  to  get 
a  return  on  their  investment.  Success  is  dependent  on  the  of- 
ficials employed.47 

45  In  1561  there  were  59  of  these  officials.    Ibid.,  1021. 
"  Ibid.,  1025. 
47  lbid.%  1029. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  HARZ  MINES  UNTIL  1347 

Hake  prefaces  his  chronicle  with  a  general  sketch:  " Concern- 
ing the  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Mines,  Concerning  Official  Persons 
and  the  History  of  the  Mine  Cities."1  Often  he  cites  his  sources 
for  this  period  which  lasted  until  1347;  sometimes  he  weighs 
conflicting  evidence,  and  frequently  he  gives  exact  references.2 
This  introduction,  the  least  satisfactory  part  of  the  work,  is 
broken  by  great  gaps,  for  the  history  of  the  Harz  mines  is  known 
only  fragmentarily  during  the  first  centuries  of  their  existence. 
Hake,  writing  in  the  sixteenth  century,  knew  of  no  local  chronicle 
and  obtained  his  scant  information  from  general  works.  He 
laments  the  absence  of  an  account  which  should  tell  " exactly 
what  happened  from  year  to  year,"  and  considers  the  lack  espe- 
cially strange  "because  there  were  so  many  learned  people  up 
here  in  the  neighboring  monastery."3  He  thinks  that  so 
"chronicle  worthy"  a  subject  as  mining  was  neglected  because 
scholars  were  ignorant  of  the  technical  terms  used  in  the  industry, 
and  adds  that  "no  one  can  write  of  a  thing  which  he  has  not 
experienced  or  seen."  In  this  rather  disjointed  portion  of  the 
narrative  it  is  often  difficult  to  tell  whether  the  author  is  writing  of 
the  Upper  Harz  mines  or  of  the  better  known  Rammelsberg. 
Since  lower  Saxony  was  often  the  center  of  the  European  stage 
during  these  centuries  the  local  story  from  time  to  time  becomes 
involved  in  general  history. 

The  date  of  the  discovery  of  ore  in  the  Harz  is  a  disputed 
question.4  According  to  the  generally  accepted  testimony  of 
Thietmar  of  Merseburg,  the  first  silver  was  found  in  the  Rammels- 
berg in  965  during  the  reign  of  Otto  the  Great.  (936-973). 5  Later 

1  The  first  two  folios  in  which  Hake  cites  what  Tacitus,  Gigolia,  Andrea 
Altgameri,  Sebastian  Munster  and  others  say  of  metals  in  Germany,  are  not 
printed  by  Denker. 

1  These  references  where  it  has  been  possible  to  verify  them,  have  been 
found  accurate. 

3  Hake,  Bergchronik,  19,  17. 

4  The  evidence  concerning  it  has  been  published  by   Waitz,   op.  «/., 
Excurs  15,  238.  Cf.  Diimmler,  Otto  I,  498. 

£-  *  Thietmari  Merseburgensis  Episcopi  Chronicon,  II,  13(8),  "Temporibus 
suis  aureum  illuxit  seculum;  apud  nos  inventa  est  primum  vena  argenti"; 
Thietmar  died  in  1018. 

14 


THE  HARZ  MINES  UNTIL  1347  15 

writers  have  placed  the  event  in  the  reign  of  his  father,  Henry  the 
Fowler,  but  such  evidence  is  rejected  by  Neuburg  who  is  unwilling 
to  date  the  event  more  exactly  than  in  the  last  years  of  Otto  I.6 
According  to  tradition,  the  first  miners  in  the  Harz  were  of 
Prankish  stock.  The  earliest  statement  to  this  effect  is  found  in 
the  Annalista  Saxo  written  in  the  twelfth  century.  The  story 
runs  that  in  1009  the  Emperor  Henry  II  granted  the  Rammels- 
berg  to  one  Gundelcarl.  "Without  delay,  he  went  to  Franconia, 
for  he  was  himself  a  Frank,  and  brought  back  with  him  many  of 
his  people.  They  built  up  the  place  Goslar  and  found  veins  of 
metals,  of  silver,  copper  and  lead."7  A  later  version  places  the 
influx  of  Francken  in  the  reign  of  Otto  the  Great.  This  seems  to 
be  followed  only  by  local  writers.8  Without  much  confidence 
in  the  truth  of  the  story,  Hake  tells  how  Otto  the  Great 
brought  these  artisans  back  with  him  from  western  Francia,9 
where  with  an  army  he  had  gone  in  949  to  the  rescue  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  the  Karling,  Louis  d'Outre  Mer  (936-954)  who  was  then 
struggling  with  another  brother-in-law  of  Otto,  Hugh  the  Great.10 

6  Neuburg,  op.  cit.,  1.    For  further  evidence  on  this  point  see  Gerdes, 
Geschichte  des  Deutschen  Volkes,  I.  393;     Crusius,  Geschichte  der  Reichstadt 
Goslar,   19;    Calvor,   Historische  Nachricht,   11  ff.      Hake,   Bergchronik,   1, 
30  ff.,  says  that  the  writers  known  to  him  unite  in  placing  the  opening  of  the 
Harz  mines  in  the  reign  of  Otto  the  Great.     The  chronicler,  does  not  omit 
the  legends  connected  with  the  discovery.    For  the  origin  of  the  story  of  the 
emperor's  forester  Ramme,  see  Waitz,  op.  cit.,  239. 

7  Monumenla  Germaniae  Historica,  VI,  660.     "Tandem  rex  victus  inpor- 
tunitate  hominis,  montem  concessit,  dicens,  se  tamen  velle,  quod  utiliora 
sibi  petivisset.    Nee  mora,  homo  iam  dictus  Franconiam  adiit — erat  enim  et 
ipse  Franco, — et  plures  gentes  sue  assumens  socios,  locum  Goslarie  edificare 
cepit,  primusque  venas  metallorum  argenti,  cupri  seu  plumbi  ibidem  repperit." 
This  version  is  also  found  in  the  Chronicle  of  Engelhuisis  who  died  in  1434. 
The  chronicle  is  printed  by  Leibnitz,  Scriptores  rerum  Brunsvicensium.  II,  1073. 
According  to  the  Chronica  Saxonum  of  Henricus  de  Hervordia,  ed.  Pott- 
hast,  p.  74,  king  Henry  I  'civitatem  Goslariam  fundavit/  which  Potthast 
and  Eggers,  Die  kdnigliche  Grundbesitz,  61,  think  trustworthy.     Cf.  Ann. 
Palid.  anno  924,  SS.XVI,  61  and  Urkb.  der  Stadt  Goslar  (Halle  1893),  Ein- 
leitung. 

8  Hake,  Bergchronik  2  and  ff.,  also  Zeiller,  Topographia  Braunschweig  und 
Liineburg,  170. 

9  (See  p.  22  for  note  9.) 

10  Hake  says  "Hugonem  Capetum"  which  is,  of  course,  a  mistake. 
Neither  Dummler,  Kaiser  Otto  der  Grosse,  nor  Lauer,  Le  regne  de  Louis  d' 
Outre-mer,  ch.  4,  mentions  the  story.  See  also,  Calvor,  Historische 
richt,  15. 


16  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514r-1589 

With  a  truly  critical  spirit,  Hake  comments  on  the  fact  that  the 
chroniclers  of  Otto  the  Great  who  were  his  contemporaries  or 
lived  soon  afterward  fail  to  mention  these  Francken  in  connection 
with  the  mines.  Among  the  writers  he  cites  are  Widukind  (10th 
century),  the  Monk  of  Lorsch,  and  Lambert  of  Hersfeld  (107 1).11 
It  seems  more  probable  to  Hake  that  the  new-comers  were  from 
this  "Francken  (Franconia)  which  lies  not  far  from  us,"12  and  he 
reminds  the  reader  that  Fichtelberg  and  Gold  Kronach  in  eastern 
Franconia  were  at  an  early  date,  prosperous  mining  towns. 
Confirmation  of  the  local  tradition  is  seen  in  such  names  as  that 
of  the  Frankenberger  Kirche,  still  an  important  church  of  Goslar. 
Modern  writers  accept  the  tradition  of  an  influx  of  foreign  miners 
who  came  to  teach  their  craft  to  the  Saxons,  but  do  not  try  to 
fix  the  locality  from  which  they  came.  Neuburg  thinks  that  the 
story  deserves  attention  because  of  the  wandering  habits  of  all 
miners  during  the  Middle  Ages,  and  because  Francken  are  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  the  smelting-houses  of  Goslar  as  early 
as  1311.1; 

The  Rammelsberg,  the  oldest  mine  in  the  Harz  district,  was  on 
the  imperial  lands  and  the  emperors  conducted  the  business  as 
landowners  until  the  end  of  the  eleventh  century.14  This  regalian 
right  made  the  mines  for  perhaps  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  the  chief  resource  of  the  imperial  exchequer  at  Goslar.16 
The  mining  industry  soon  spread  a  few  miles  south  of  the  Ram- 
melsberg to  the  Upper  Harz  mountains.  Hake  first  mentions  the 
mines  in  this  locality  in  connection  with  Otto  the  Great,16  and 
believed  that  they  continued  in  operation  during  the  greater  part 

11  Hake,  Bergchronik,  3,  27. 

12  Ibid.,  3, 39;  Sebastian  Minister,  Cosmographia,  lib.  3,  cap.  371;  Heinec- 
cius,  Antiquitates  Goslarienses,  19  ff.;  and  Calvor,   Historische  Nachricht,  15. 
(See  p.  22  for  addition  to  note.) 

18  Op.  cit.,  13  n.  1.  See  also  Ermisch,  op.  cit.,  XI;  Bode,  Urkundenbuch  der 
Stadt  Goslar,  I.  4;  Arndt,  Zur  Geschichte  und  Theorie  des  Bergregals,  etc.,  20. 
Arndt  suggests  that  these  Francken  originally  gained  their  knowledge  from 
Romans  in  the  Rhine  district.  Bergbau  und  Bergbau  Politik,  11. 

14  Zycha,  op.  cit.,  73. 

16  Neuberg,  op.  cit.,  10. 

16  Bergchronik,  3,  16;  Ermisch,  op.  cit.,  XII.  Zeiller,  in  the  Topographia 
Braunschweig  und  Lilneburg  (1654)  68,  and  Honemann  in  the  Alterthumer  des 
Earzes  (18th  century)  follow  Hake  in  placing  the  event  in  the  10th  century. 
Calvor  in  the  Historische  Nachricht  discusses  the  question  at  some  length, 
16,  25,  52,  59,  etc. 


THE  HARZ  MINES  UNTIL  1347  17 

of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries.18*  However,  the  earliest 
documentary  proof  of  the  use  of  the  mineral  resources  of  the 
Upper  Harz  dates  from  127 1.17  Even  after  that  time  the  story  of 
these  newer  mines  is  known  only  fragmentarily.  Because  of  the 
lack  of  contemporary  evidence  for  the  existence  of  the  Upper  Harz 
mines  before  the  thirteenth  century  it  will  be  assumed  that  what 
Hake  relates  of  an  earlier  period  applies  only  to  the  Rammelsberg. 
This  confusion  may  be  partly  explained  by  the  fact  that  the 
associates  of  that  mine  obtained  their  fuel  from  the  forests  of  the 
Upper  Harz  where  they  established  smelting-furnaces.18 

The  Harz  mines  prospered  from  the  start,  and  were  profitable 
both  for  investors  and  miners.19  Though  a  terrible  famine  and 
pestilence  so  depleted  the  population  that  the  industry  was 
entirely  abandoned  for  ten  years  during  the  reign  of  Henry  II, 
(1002-1024)  ,20  the  following  years  proved  a  period  of  prosperity 
for  the  city  of  Goslar  and  the  neighboring  mines.  Work  recom- 
menced in  1016;  the  old  mines  were  drained,  new  mines  built,  and 
smelting  developed.21  This  success  lasted  until  the  reign  of 
Henry  IV,  (1056-1077)  when  there  was  a  serious  rising  of  the 
miners,  caused,  as  the  story  runs,  by  the  emperor's  insult  to  the 
wife  of  his  chief  mine  official.22  Whether  the  tale  is  true  or  not, 
the  time  of  Henry's  wars  with  the  Saxons  marked  a  crisis  in  the 
history  of  the  mines,23  and  coincided  with  a  great  exodus  of  miners. 
Henry  V  (1106-1125)  repaired  the  damages  of  his  father's  reign 
and  the  work  proceeded  in  peace  until  the  time  of  Henry  the 
Lion.24  In  1157  the  Emperor  Frederick  granted  the  Saxon  duke 
the  Harz  forest  as  an  hereditary  fief  and  in  the  same  year  divided 
the  Rammelsberg  mine  in  equal  parts  between  the  monastery  of 
Walkenried,  the  monastery  of  Saint  Simon  and  Saint  Jude,  the 

(Note  for  16*  on  p.  22.) 

17  Giinther,  Die  Besiedelung  des  Oberharzes,  H.  Z.  1884,  6;     GUnther, 
Der  Harz,  61. 

18  Calvor,  Historische  Nachricht,  26,  27.     See  also  Honemann,  Alter- 
thumer,  92. 

19  Hake,  Bergchronik,  5,  20. 

20  Ibid.,  6.    Crusius,  op.  cit.,  26;  Calvor,  Historische  Nachricht,  55. 

21  Hake,  Bergchronik,  7. 

22  Ibid.,  7  also  Crusius,  op.  cit.,  44. 

23  Neuberg,  op.  cit.,  13;  Hake,  Bergchronik,  8,  1. 

24  Crusius,  op.  cit.,  48;  Hake,  Bergchronik,  9. 


18  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,   1514-1589 

monastery  of  Saint  Peter,  and  the  city  of  Goslar.25  In  later  years 
when  the  emperor  and  his  greatest  subject  were  at  war  (1181) 
Henry  did  serious  damage  to  the  mines  and  furnaces  of  the  Ram- 
melsberg  and  so  frightened  the  people  that  "in  twenty-eight  years 
little  that  was  fruitful  was  produced."26  It  was  at  this  period 
(1170)  that  teamsters  carrying  salt  from  Halle  to  Bohemia  by 
way  of  Meissen  are  said  to  have  discovered  lead  in  the  district 
where  Freiberg  is  now  situated.  They  had  the  ore  assayed  in 
Goslar,  and  its  fine  quality  led  a  company  of  miners  from  the 
Harz  to  migrate  to  the  new  fields.  It  is  at  least  true  that  the 
mines  in  the  Saxon  Erzgebirge  were  first  worked  by  miners  from 
the  Harz.27 

The  Harz  district  was  destined  to  be  the  scene  of  yet  another 
struggle  for  imperial  supremacy,  that  between  the  rivals  Philip 
and  Otto.28  This  warfare  was  only  a  repetition  of  the  old  story, 
for  all  that  had  been  rebuilt  in  the  Harz  regions  since  the  time  of 
Henry  the  Lion  was  again  destroyed.  The  city  of  Goslar  sup- 
ported Philip  and  was  taken  and  burned  by  Otto  and  his  fol- 
lowers who  were  aided  by  the  citizens  of  Brunswick.  So  great 
was  the  wealth  of  the  conquered  city,  that  it  took  eight  days 
to  carry  off  the  plunder.  In  1209  after  the  death  of  Philip, 
Otto  once  more  started  mining  operations  in  the  Rammelsberg.29 
He  also  visited  the  monastery  of  Walkenried  in  the  Harz  and 
confirmed  its  privileges,  and  its  share  in  the  mines  and  smel ting- 
houses.30  This  share  was  probably  the  fourth  of  the  Rammelsberg 
which  had  been  granted  by  Barbarossa.  After  the  death  of 
Otto  IV  the  peace  made  in  1218  between  his  brother  Henry,  the 
heir  of  the  Brunswick  lands,  and  the  Emperor  Frederick  II 
inaugurated  a  period  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  of 
growth  and  uninterrupted  prosperity  for  the  mines.31  In  1235 
Frederick  created  Otto  the  Child,  a  descendant  of  Henry  the  Lion, 

26  Calvor,  Historische  Nachricht,  19.  Neuberg  questions  these  gifts  to 
monasteries,  op.  cit.,  17.  The  statement  is  found  in  Eckstorm's  Chronicle  of 
Walkenried  (1617). 

26  The  famous  lion  erected  by  Henry  in  the  city  of  Brunswick  was  prob- 
ably cast  in  a  local  furnace,  though  it  may  have  been  the  work  of  foreign 
masters,  H.  Z.  1870,  307. 

27  Ermisch,  op.  cit.,  XVI;    Crusius,  op.  cit.,  61;    Arndt,   Bergbau  und 
Bergbau  Polilik,  11. 

28  Hake,  Bergchronik,  9,  42  ff. 

29  Calvor,  Historische  Nachricht,  55;  Crusius,  op.  cit.,  78. 

30  Hake,  Bergchronik,  11,  2  ff.;  Neuburg,  op.  cit.,  18. 
11  Hake,  Bergchronik,  12,  22;  Crusius,  op.  cit.,  83. 


THE  HARZ  MINES  UNTIL  1347  19 

the  first  duke  of  Brunswick-Liineburg  and  gave  one  tenth  of  the 
income  of  the  Rammelsberg  mine  to  him  and  to  his  heirs.32  The 
mines  of  the  Upper  Harz  are  not  mentioned  in  the  charter  by 
which  Frederick  I  granted  the  Harz  forests  to  Henry  the  Lion 
in  1157,  nor  in  that  of  Frederick  II  which  created  the  duchy 
1235.33  Glinther  suggests  that  the  miners  driven  from  the  Ram- 
melsberg by  the  wars  between  Barbarossa  and  Henry  the  Lion, 
and  later  by  those  between  Philip  and  Otto  may  have  opened 
new  mines  in  the  Upper  Harz  forests  where  they  were  in  the  habit 
of  smelting  their  ore.34  The  code  Jura  et  libertates  silvanorum  issued 
in  1271  by  Duke  Albert  the  Great  shows  that  one  of  the  courts  for 
the  trial  of  mining  cases  held  by  the  officials  of  Goslar  was  located 
in  the  Upper  Harz,36  while  the  division  of  property  made  by  this 
same  duke  in  1279  mentions  "the  mine  and  forest  of  Claus  in  the 
Harz,"  and  "the  mine  and  forest  of  Zellerfeld  in  the  Harz."36 
The  conclusion  is  then  that  the  Upper  Harz  mines  first  became 
important  during  the  thirteenth  century.  The  prosperity  of  the 
industry  may  be  gauged  by  the  extensive  remains  of  ancient 
mines  and  furnaces  visible  in  the  sixteenth  century.37 

From  this  fragmentary  outline  it  will  be  seen  that  there  are 
tremendous  gaps  in  our  knowledge  of  the  early  history  of  the 
Upper  Harz  mines.  Hake's  emphasis  is  on  the  catastrophes  which 
disturbed  the  peaceful  development  of  the  industry  during  this 
early  period  which  ended  some  two  hundred  and  thirty  years 
before  he  wrote  his  history.  Of  the  period  between  1218  and 
1347  he  knew  absolutely  nothing.38 

In  1347  the  Black  Death  seems  to  have  reached  lower  Saxony 
and  put  an  end  to  all  activities  in  the  Upper  Harz.39  The  district 
was  not  again  of  economic  importance  until  the  sixteenth  century. 

82  Havemann,  Geschichte  der  Lande  Braunschweig  und  Luneburg.  I,  375 ; 
Neuburg,  op.  cit.,  40;  Crusius,  op.  cit.,  83. 

33  Calvor,  Historische  Nachricht,  25. 

"Die  Besiedelung,  etc.,  H.Z.,  1884.  The  monastery  of  Celle,  on  the 
ruins  of  which  Zellerfeld  was  built,  may  have  played  a  part  in  opening  these 
mines.  It  undoubtedly  formed  a  religious  center  for  the  new  settlements. 
Ibid.,  6, 10  and  Hake,  Bergchronik,  13. 

35  Giinther,  Die  Besiedelung,  etc.  6. 

*  Calvor,  Historische  Nachricht,  27. 

87  Hake,  Bergchronik,  15  ff. 

88  For  a  detailed  account  of  the  Rammelsberg  mine  see  Goslar's  Bergbau 
bis  1552  by  Neuburg. 

39  Crusius,  op.  cit.,  144;  Calvor,  Historische  Nachricht,  65;  Hake, 
Bergchronik,  12,  24.  It  is  possible  that  one  reason  that  the  mines  were 
abandoned  was  from  lack  of  wood.  Ibid.,  15,  7. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ  UNDER  THE 
DUCHESS  ELISABETH 
1435-1520? 

The  Black  Death  which  swept  so  disastrously  across  Europe 
in  1347  left  the  Upper  Harz  mines,  which  had  enjoyed  long  years 
of  prosperity,  deserted  and  desolate.  It  was  not  until  the  fifteenth 
century  that  work  was  recommenced  in  this  district.1  The  credit 
for  renewing  this  industry  which  spelled  economic  prosperity  for 
country  and  ruler,  has  long  been  given  to  the  Duchess  Elisabeth, 
of  the  house  of  Stollberg,  the  widow  of  Duke  William  the  Younger 
of  Wolfenbuttel.2  Friedrich  Gimther  has  recently  pointed  out,* 
however,  that  some  of  the  mines  were  in  operation  when  she  came 
as  a  widow  to  live  in  the  castle  of  Stauffenburg,  which  had  been 
left  her  by  her  husband.  William  the  Younger  ruled  over  the 
duchies  of  Gottingen,  Calenberg  and  Wolfenbuttel,  but  in  1495 
divided  his  lands  between  his  sons,  Henry  the  Elder  of  Wolfen- 
buttel and  Erich  the  Elder  of  Calenberg.4  This,  the  last  partition 
made  by  the  middle  house  of  Brunswick,  renewed  the  lines  of 
Wolfenbuttel  and  Calenberg  in  a  period  when  union  rather  than 
separation  should  have  been  the  rule.  There  were  more 
divisions  in  the  duchy  of  Brunswick,  than  in  any  other 
German  principality,6  and  the  question  of  ownership  is 
an  intricate  one  for  the  boundaries  were  subject  to  constant 
shifting.  As  was  customary,  William,  in  giving  his  sons 

1  Hake,  Bergchronik,  12;  32.  Calvor,  Historische  Nachricht,  65  says  that 
he  could  find  no  evidence  that  the  Upper  Harz  mines  were  worked  between 
1349  and  1524. 

•Elisabeth  von  Stollberg  (1435-1520?),  of  the  middle  house  of  Braun- 
schweig-Liineburg.  Havemann,  Geschichte  der  Lande  Braunschweig  und 
Liineburg,  499. 

8  Die  Grundung  der  Bergstadt  Grund,  H.  Z.,  1906,  16. 

4  Ibid.,  23;  Heinemann,  Geschichte  von  Braunschweig  und  Hannover. 
II,  217. 

6  The  map  of  Germany  during  the  Reformation  period,  in  Spruner's 
Hand  Atlas,  Gotha;  1854,  shows  Brunswick  divided  into  the  lesser  duchies  of 
Ltineburg  (Celle),  Calenberg,  Wolfenbiittel,  Gottingen  and  Grubenhagen. 
Wagner,  Corpus  Juris  Metallici.  XXIX.  As  early  as  1279  Duke  Albert 
the  Great  of  Brunswick  had  divided  the  Upper  Harz  mines  and  forests 
among  his  three  sons. 

20 


THE  MINES  UNDER  THE  DUCHESS  ELISABETH  21 

their  shares  arranged  that  they  were  to  control  the  mines 
jointly.6  This,  with  other  proofs,  leads  Giinther  to  the 
conclusion  that  mining  in  the  Upper  Harz,  in  the  Iberge  and 
Grund  was  in  operation  by  the  year  1450.  Zeiller  also  gives  the 
credit  for  reopening  the  mines  in  the  Iberge  to  William  the 
Younger.7  Hake  is  the  only  contemporary  witness  of  what 
Elisabeth's  activity  was.  He  writes:  "Her  Grace  being  informed 
that  there  were  in  the  neighborhood  old  passages  and  especially 
iron  mines  which  had  been  used  by  the  early  workers,  aspired  to 
bring  them  once  more  into  use.  But  because  her  Grace  lacked 
steelsmiths,  and  as  there  were  none  in  the  principality,  she 
imported  some  from  Stollberg  and  its  environs  and  also  from 
around  Ellrich."8  Giinther's  ingenious  interpretation  is  that 
instead  of  actually  beginning  the  mining  industry,  she  introduced 
a  new  branch,  the  making  of  steel.9  Presently  the  Iberge,  Grund, 
and  Gittelde  became  the  scene  of  prosperous  activity.  Though 
iron  was  the  chief  output,  silver  also  was  mined  as  in  the  old  days, 
but  without  great  profit.10  The  iron  mines  of  the  Iberge  grew  and 
in  a  few  years  had  developed  a  good  business  which  was  directed 
by  Elisabeth's  chancellor.  For  this  reason  the  warehouse  in 
Gittelde  was  called  the  "Cantzeley."  Martin  Zeiller,  writing  in 
165 7,  says  that  the  factory  in  Gittelde  was  still  standing,  and  that 
very  good  iron  was  made  from  the  ore.  He  adds,  without  giving 
a  date,  that  the  rush  of  miners  and  smelters  to  Grund  was  so  great 
that  the  town  soon  needed  a  judge  and  council.  An  index  to  the 
increased  population  drawn  to  the  Harz  by  the  popularity  of  the 
mines  is  found  in  the  fact  that  in  1505  Elisabeth  established  an 
independent  church  in  Grund  which  until  then  had  been  depend- 
ent on  the  church  of  Gittelde.11 

Elisabeth  was  in  close  touch  with  her  people  and  it  is  interest- 
ing to  note  that  in  her  kindliness  she  renounced  the  heriot,  the 
good  horse  to  which  she  was  entitled  on  the  death  of  a  householder 
and  the  cow  which  at  the  death  of  his  wife  was  hers  by  right.12 
The  duchess  herself  came  often  to  Grund  for  the  sake  of  the  natural 

6  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  XXVIII;  Heinemann,  op.  cil.,  II,  218.     Here  lies  the 
explanation  of  the  expression  "Kommunion  Harz." 

7  Topographia  Braunschweig  und  Liineburg,  107. 

8  Hake,  Bergchronik,  32,  13  ff. 
•  Giinther,  H.  Z.,  1906,  19. 

10  Hake,  Bergchronik,  33,  5;  36,  3. 

11  Gunther,  H.  Z.,  1906. 

11  Hake,  Berchronik,  34,  19. 


22  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

warm  springs  of  the  neighborhood  which  were  "like  medicine  to 
help  poor  miners  and  many  other  people."  As  the  chronicler 
says:  "She  planned  for  her  people  as  the  mother  for  the  house," 
but  her  private  life  was  saddened  by  such  hard  personal  losses 
that  he  adds  quaintly  "she  sat  in  no  rose  garden."  At  her  funeral 
she  was  extolled  by  the  Pastor  of  Alshausen  as 

Mater  et  nutrix  ecclesiae 

Cum  magna  devotione 

Fautrix  clericorum, 

Inventrix  metallorum, 

Paupertatis  consolatio, 

V  duarum  recreatio 

In  Domino  obdormivet, 

In  tumulo  habitat, 

In  pace  requiescat.13 

18  Rehtmeier,  Braunschweig-Liineburgische  Chronica,  770. 

Page  15 

9  Hake  was  misled  into  telling  this  story  because  of  a  confusion  of 
geographical  terms.  German  chroniclers  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  cen- 
turies employed  the  word  'Francia'  or  'Frantia'  frequently  to  designate 
Franconia,  and  did  not  mean  France.  Cf.  Lambert  of  Hersfeld,  Annales, 
ed.  Holder  Egger,  274,  5;  Otto  of  Freising,  Chronica,  ed.  Hofmeister  (1912), 
25,  15;  224,  30;  226,  5;  231,  35;  233,  5;  236,  5;  240,  25;  241,  15;  242,  35; 
244,  1;  245,  35;  247,  30;  249,  15;  254,  20;  262,  1;  279,  1.  See  also  Waitz, 
Deutsche  Verfassungsgeschichte,  V,  161-65. 

Page  16,  add  to  note  12: 

Riibel,  Die  Franken,  and  J.  Mtiller,  Frankencolonisation  auf  dem  Eichsfelde 

(1911),  have  done  much  to  elucidate  this  subject  in  recent  years. 

Page  17 

16a  The  evidence  for  this  statement  is  inferential,  but  is  justified  by  an 
examination  of  the  fiscal  policy  of  Henry  III  and  especially  Henry  IV,  who 
probably  contemplated  establishing  a  fixed  capital  at  Goslar,  a  purpose 
which  was  frustrated  by  the  rebellion  of  1075  and  the  protracted  anarchy 
in  Germany  which  ensued.  See  Gebhardt,  Handbuch  der  deutschen  Gesch. 
(1891),  I,  310,  and  more  fully  Nitzsch,  Deutsche  Geschichte,  II,  45-47;  352-60. 
Goslar  originally  pertained  to  the  house  lands  of  the  Ludolfinger  dukes  of 
Saxony,  whence  came  Henry  I  and  the  Saxon  house. — Eggers,  Der  kdnigliche 
Grundbesitz  (1909),  60-61.  The  appropriation  of  Goslar  by  the  Franconians 
was  one  of  the  grounds  of  feud  between  them  and  the  Billunger  dukes  of 
Saxony  in  the  eleventh  century.  Goslar  was  formed  by  a  union  of  three 
villages,  of  which  the  colony  of  miners  at  Rammelsberg  was  the  oldest. 
Its  first  chartered  privilege  dates  from  Frederick  II  in  1219. 


CHAPTER  IV 

HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL 
1489-1568 

The  enterprises  which  Elisabeth  left  in  such  good  condition 
were  carried  on  by  her  grandson.  One  of  her  many  griefs  had  been 
the  early  death  of  her  oldest  son,  Henry  the  Elder  in  Friesland, 
(1514),  where  he  was  fighting  in  behalf  of  the  city  of  Bremen.1 
In  1510,  recognizing  the  evils  attendant  upon  dividing  the  duchy 
into  small  holdings,  Henry  had  made  an  arrangement,  probably 
not  written,  by  which  his  entire  inheritance  should  pass  to  his 
oldest  son.2  In  spite  of  this  his  six  sons  at  his  death  made  a 
compact  in  which  the  four  oldest,  who  held  preferments  in  the 
church,  renounced  their  claims  in  favor  of  Henry,  called  "the 
Younger."  William,  the  youngest,  was  the  only  one  who  de- 
manded either  a  division  of  the  lands  or  a  joint  rule  and  proved 
so  troublesome  that  Henry  thought  him  safest  in  prison  where  he 
was  detained  twelve  years.  In  1515  the  two  brothers  finally  drew 
up  a  formal  contract3  by  which  they  assumed  their  father's  debts 
and  recognized  the  principle  of  primogeniture.  The  younger, 
William,  swore  allegiance  to  Henry,  and  for  his  share  of  his  father's 
estate  had  to  be  satisfied  with  the  castle  of  Gandersheim  and  2000 
gulden  a  year.  This  arrangement  was  confirmed  by  the  Emperor 
Charles  V  (1539).  Thus  Henry  inherited  from  his  father  "land 
and  people,  castles,  cities  and  grounds  and  the  mine  on  the  Ram- 
melsberg  with  all  belonging  to  it."  Even  in  that  hard  age  Henry's 
lack  of  fraternal  feeling  drew  upon  him  the  criticism  of  some  of  the 
princes  of  his  own  Catholic  party  and  proved  the  source  of 
future  trouble.4 

Henry's  self  chosen  motto  Meine  Zeit  mil  Unruhe  epitomizes 
the  story  of  his  long  life.  Before  the  inheritance  compact  among 
the  brothers  had  been  completed,  Henry  was  embroiled  in  the 

1  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  227. 
5  Ibid.,  II,  335. 

3  Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  886.     The  compact  was  renewed  in  1517. 

4  Koll,  Henri  le  Jeune,  et  la  Rtjorme,  36. 

23 


24  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

feud  which  broke  out  in  1516  over  the  lands  of  the  bishop  of 
Hildesheim.5  The  bishopric  had  been  mortgaged  in  the  past  to 
meet  the  expenses  of  extravagant  bishops  and  of  war,  and  John 
chosen  bishop  in  1504,  planned  through  strict  economy,  to  buy 
them  back.  However,  the  occupants  had  come  to  look  upon  these 
lands  as  their  own  and  when  their  tenure  was  threatened  they 
called  upon  others  of  their  class  who  might  in  future  share  the 
danger.  Of  this  number  were  Erich  of  Brunswick-Calenberg, 
Henry  the  Younger  and  his  brother  William.  On  the  other  hand, 
Henry6  of  the  line  of  Brunswick-Liineburg  was  of  the  bishop's 
party.  The  feud  reached  its  climax  when  in  June,  1514,  at  Soltau 
the  bishop's  allies  won  and  Erich  and  William  were  taken  prison- 
ers. The  Reichsregiment  had  twice  bidden  the  contestants  lay 
down  their  arms,  but  it  was  not  until  after  the  imperial  election 
that  Charles  V  punished  this  long,  flagrant  breach  of  the  Peace  of 
the  Land  by  placing  the  bishop  of  Hildesheim  and  Henry  the 
Mittlere  under  the  ban  of  the  Empire.  Erich  had  been  right,  how- 
ever, when  on  hearing  the  results  of  the  election  he  exclaimed: 
"If  Charles  of  Ghent  is  chosen  emperor,  the  princes  of  Brunswick 
have  gained  more  than  they  have  lost,"7  for  Erich  and  Henry  the 
Younger  were  deputed  to  carry  out  the  ban.  Further,  by  the 
Peace  of  Quedlinburg  (1523),  each  party  kept  what  it  had.  The 
bishop's  portion  surrounding  the  city  of  Hildesheim  was  from  this 
time  known  as  the  "Small  Bishopric."  The  rest  was  divided 
between  the  dukes  of  Brunswick  and  Henry  received  castles 
cities,  monasteries — a  notable  addition  to  his  territories.  Years 
later,  in  1540  the  pope  demanded  restitution,  but  in  1559  Emperor 
Ferdinand  confirmed  the  grant  of  the  conquered  bishop's  lands  to 
Henry  and  Erich.  This  was  repeated  by  Maximilian  II  in  15658 
and  restitution  was  not  made  until  1642. 

Of  even  greater  importance  to  Henry  than  the  territorial  gain, 
was  the  alliance  thus  formed  between  the  young  emperor  and  the 
young  duke  who  were  but  carrying  out  the  tradition  of  their 
families.  At  this  time,  in  addition  to  ruling  over  greater  territory 
than  has  often  fallen  to  the  share  of  one  man,  the  young  Hapsburg 

'  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  275  ff. 

6  der  Mittlere. 

7  "1st  Karl  von  Gent  zum  Kaiser  erkoren,  so  haben  die  braunschweigi- 
schen  Ftirsten  mehr  gewonnen  als  verloren." 

8  Rehtmeier,  op.  cil.,  938,  946. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  25 

had  just  succeeded  in  gaining  the  election  to  the  highest  secular 
office.  Though  ruler  and  subject  were  destined  to  lead  stormy 
lives,  policy  induced  them  to  continue  the  early  friendship. 

From  the  time  of  the  Diet  of  Worms  the  religious  question 
held  the  center  of  the  stage  in  the  Empire.  Henry  of  Wolfen- 
biittel  never  wavered  in  his  allegiance  to  the  emperor,  but  fol- 
lowed his  lead  in  religion  as  in  war.  Personally  he  was  not  religious, 
but  saw  the  political  value  of  remaining  in  the  Catholic  church. 
His  priests  complained  that  though  "a  good  papist,  Henry  had 
no  compunction  in  taking  away  what  they  had  scraped  together, 
and  leaving  them  only  chimes  and  chants."  His  utter  failure  to 
comprehend  what  religion  might  mean  to  an  earnest,  unworldly 
man  is  shown  in  the  advice  which  he  gave  to  Charles  at  the  Diet 
of  Augsburg  in  1530:  "As  far  as  taking  the  sacrament  in  both 
kinds  or  the  marriage  of  priests  is  concerned,  I  wouldn't  bother  to 
saddle  my  horse  over  the  question."9  Nevertheless,  the  Peasants' 
Revolt  of  1525,  brought  Henry  the  Younger  into  conflict,  for  the 
Harz  district  was  swept  by  the  insurrection,  and  much  property, 
especially  that  of  monasteries  was  destroyed.  The  outrages 
connected  with  the  taking  of  Walkenried  were  such  that  religious 
differences  were  forgotten  for  the  time  and  the  princes  as  a  class 
united  against  the  peasants  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  their 
property  and  restoring  order.  Duke  George  of  Saxony,  Philip 
of  Hesse,  the  count  of  Mansfeld,  Otto  of  Luneburg  and  Henry  the 
Younger  armed  and  met  the  peasants  at  Frankenhausen  in  Thiir- 
ingia  (May  25,  1525).  The  latter  were  miserably  slaughtered  and 
as  a  result  of  the  battle  lost  their  leader  Miinzer.  As  he  lay  dying, 
Duke  Henry,  that  the  peasant  leader  might  not  lose  his  soul, 
recited  the  creed  to  him  "clearly  and  with  a  harsh  voice."10  Like 
most  Catholics  Henry  was  becoming  more  and  more  prejudiced 
against  the  teachings  of  Luther  whom  he  blamed  for  the  peasant 
rising.  The  chronicler  of  the  mines  is  silent  concerning  this 
uprising,  and  the  lack  of  evidence  indicates  that  work  was  not 
interrupted. 

Even  before  the  Peasants'  Revolt  Henry's  ambition  brought 
him  into  serious  difficulties  with  the  imperial  city  of  Goslar,  which 

•Havemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  221.  "Wegen  geniessung  des  Sacraments, 
wegen  Pfaffenweiber  und  desgleichen  Sachen  mocht  ich  mein  Pferd  nicht 
satteln." 

10  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  337  ff. 


26  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514r-1589 

since  the  partition  of  the  Hildesheim  lands  had  been  entirely 
surrounded  by  Henry's  possessions.11  The  duke's  relations  with 
this  prosperous  city  were  peculiar,  and  their  origin  must  be  sought 
in  the  settlement  of  the  bitter  Guelph-Hohenstaufen  struggle. 
In  1235  Frederick  II  made  Otto  the  Child,  grandson  of  Henry 
the  Lion,  the  first  duke  of  Brunswick-Liineburg  and  granted  him 
the  annual  tenth  of  the  income  of  the  Rammelsberg  mine  which 
had  belonged  to  the  Empire  and  carried  with  it  jurisdiction  and 
sovereignty  over  the  mine.12  The  Rammelsberg  is  "a  fairly  large 
mountain,  lying  south  of  the  city  of  Goslar,  almost  grown  over 
with  woods,  heather  .  .  .  and  other  shrubs,  and  appears  an 
unfruitful  mountain;  before  it  there  are  no  other  mountains, 
but  behind  (south)  it  rise  the  Harz."13  This  tenth  of  the  Rammels- 
berg mine  was  mortgaged  in  the  thirteenth  century  by  the  dukes 
of  Brunswick  to  a  private  citizen,  Hermann  von  Gowisch.14  By 
1379  this  fief  had  come  under  the  control  of  the  city  council  of 
Goslar  and  the  alderman,  although  the  dukes  retained  the 
privilege  of  buying  back  the  mortgaged  property,  exercised  the 
rights  of  sovereignty  over  the  mines  until  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century.15  This  practical  ownership  lasted  until  the  time 
of  Henry  the  Younger  who  aimed  to  bring  the  valuable  property 
entirely  under  the  control  of  his  house.  In  spite  of  this  ambition 
he  made  an  agreement  with  Goslar  in  1518  by  which  he  promised 
to  protect  the  city  in  its  possession  of  mines,  smelting-houses  and 
forests  for  eight  years.16  The  feeling  between  duke  and  city  was 
strained,  however,  by  the  duke's  demand  for  men  and  money  to 
help  him  enforce  the  ban  against  the  bishop  of  Hildesheim.  The 
city  had  wished  to  remain  neutral.  Perhaps  his  success  in  the 
matter  of  the  Hildesheim  lands  had  turned  Henry's  head  a  little. 
At  any  rate,  in  1525,  he  announced  to  the  city  council  his  intention 
of  buying  back  the  forests,  the  tenth,  and  the  jurisdiction  over  the 
mine  which  had  been  granted  with  this  proviso  by  his  forefathers.17 

11  Heinemann,  op  cit.,  II,  344. 

12  Heineccius,  op.  cit.,  II,  250;  Neuburg,  op.  cit.,  33. 

13  Zeiller,  op.  cit.,  169. 

14  Neuburg,  op.  cil.,  60.,  n.  1.;  Calvor,  Historishe  Nachricht,  27. 
16  Neuburg,  op.  cit.,  140  ff. 

16  Crusius,  op.  cit.,  218. 

17  Heineccius,    op.  cit.,  II,  446;  Cranzi,   Vandaliae  et  Saxoniae,  232. 
Henry  the  Elder,  father  of  Henry  the  Younger  intended  to  buy  back  the 
mortgaged  tenth,  but  never  succeeded.    See  Giinther,  Der  Harz,  199. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  27 

The  citizens,  though  unwilling,  seem  to  have  yielded  the  tenth, 
while  retaining  such  sovereign  rights  as  that  of  jurisdiction  and  the 
right  of  leasing  holdings  in  the  mine.18  To  grant  Henry's  claims 
would  have  left  Goslar  no  territory  outside  the  city  walls  and  no 
interest  in  the  mine,  so  in  self-defense  the  council  turned  to  Charles 
V.  Their  petition  was  granted,  but  instead  of  obeying  the  mandate 
of  restitution  (March  23,  1526)  Henry  fortified  the  monastery  of 
Riechenberg,  raised  the  price  of  wood  and  charcoal,  turned  the 
water  from  the  smelting-houses,  stole  ore  as  it  was  being  trans- 
ported, and  harassed  the  people  of  Goslar  in  every  possible  way.19 
So  intolerable  was  their  position  that  in  1530  they  again  appealed 
to  the  Diet,  then  in  session  at  Augsburg.  In  1528,  however, 
by  introducing  the  Lutheran  form  of  worship  into  Goslar,20  the 
burghers  had  so  displeased  the  emperor  that  instead  of  enforcing 
his  edict  of  1526,  he  left  the  matter  to  the  imperial  court  and  threat- 
ened with  the  ban  any  partisan  who  should  disturb  the 
perpetual  peace.21  The  Landgrave  Philip  of  Hesse  had  promised 
to  help  Henry  but  in  1531,  Goslar,  by  joining  the  League  of 
Schmalkald  gained  the  right  to  his  protection;  so  Henry  was 
forced  to  do  without  Philip's  assistance.22  Thus  the  quarrel 
dragged  through  long  years,  becoming  inextricably  involved  with 
the  religious  question.  The  decision  which  put  the  city  under 
the  ban  (1540)  was  withdrawn  in  1541.23  Amid  the  general  con- 
fusion Goslar  evidently  regained  control  of  the  Rammelsberg 
mine,  for  the  ordinances  which  the  city  issued  in  1539  and  154424 
indicate  that  its  authority  was  complete,  at  least  on  paper. 
Henry  continued  fighting  in  spite  of  the  Edict  of  Regensburg  of 
1541,  and  the  period  of  his  exile  and  imprisonment  by  the  Protes- 
tants (1542-1547)  must  have  brought  a  welcome  respite  to  his 
enemies.  As  soon  as  he  was  set  free  trouble  recommenced.  In 
1551  Charles  V  came  to  the  aid  of  Goslar  but  too  late  to  save  the 
city.  In  the  archives  of  Wernigerode  has  been  found  a  command 

18  Giinther,  Der  Harz,  199.    In  1527  Henry  with  the  help  of  the  cities  of 
Magdeburg  and  Brunswick  paid  Goslar  24,663  Rhenish  gulden.  Neuburg, 
op.  cit.,  319. 

19  Crusius,  op.  cit.,  222. 

20  Holscher,  Die  Geschichte  der  Reformation  in  Goslar. 

21  Neuburg,  op.  cit.,  142. 

22  Koll,  op.  cit.,  21. 

23  Neuburg,  op.  cit.,  143. 

24  Wagner,  Corpus  Jurus,  1045,  1049. 


28  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

of  the  emperor  dated  May  13,  1551,  at  Augsburg,25  ordering  the 
princes  of  the  neighborhood  to  protect  the  city  against  Henry. 
They  were  to  allow  free  passage  through  their  dominions 
for  wood,  charcoal  and  other  things  needed  for  the  mines  and 
furnaces  of  Goslar.  In  1552  Henry  besieged  the  city  and  the 
Riechenberg  agreement  of  June  13  of  that  year  marks  his  final 
success. 

His  victory  gave  Henry  the  sovereign  right  of  preemption  of 
all  silver,  lead  and  other  metals  produced  by  the  Rammelsberg, 
as  well  as  a  tenth  of  all  its  output.  He  also  gained  jurisdiction 
over  the  mine  property  which  included  the  right  of  making  its 
laws.26  His  ordinance  of  1552  shows  that  he  took  the  reins  at 
once.  For  centuries  the  Grubenhagen  line  had  controlled  a  part 
of  the  mine,  and  this  half  Henry  never  actually  owned  though 
it  was  leased  to  him  with  the  proviso  that  his  tenure  should  be 
permanent.27 

It  was  probably  Henry's  policy  to  interfere  as  little  as  possible 
with  the  actual  running  of  the  mine  and  the  organization  as 
outlined  in  his  first  code  did  not  differ  materially  from  that  in  the 
last  ordinance  issued  by  the  city  council  in  1 544.28  In  the  latter  the 
ruler  was  acknowledged  by  the  grant  of  one  thirteenth,  at  that 
time  his  rightful  share  of  the  output  of  the  mine,  but  the  council 
exercised  the  sovereign  right  of  jurisdiction.  To  the  city  fathers 
belonged  one  ninth  of  the  ore,  while  the  associates  shared  accord- 
ing to  their  holdings.  This  code,  like  that  of  1494,  illustrates  that 
phase  in  the  history  of  the  Rammelsberg  mine,  during  which  the 
city  council  controlled  a  considerable  share  in  the  mine  associa- 
tion.29 The  head  official  was  the  overseer.  He  was  assisted  by 
eight  skilled  miners  who  were  responsible  for  the  administration 

26  Published  in  H.  Z.,  1884,  321. 

26  Wagner,  Corpus  Juris,  1057;  Neuburg,  op.  cit.,  320. 

27  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  XXVIII,  1065.    Through  the  dying  out  of  the  Gruben- 
hagen line  in  1635  this  became  part  of  the  Bergwerks-Kommunion.    It  is 
significant  that  in  his  will  (1582)  Julius,  the  son  of  Henry,  speaks  of  the 
debts  left  by  his  father  and  attributes  them  to  his  costly  wars  and  this  pur- 
chas^  of  the  mine.    Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  1040. 

28  This  ordinance  of  1544  is  published  by  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  1049,  and  dis- 
cussed by  Neuburg,  op.  cit.,  336  ff. 

29  Neuburg,  op.  cit.,  335-36.     The  Sechsmanner  no  longer  shared  in  the 
administration,  but  acted  as  guardians  and  judges. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK- WOLFENBUTTEL      29 

and  condition  of  the  mine,  gave  permits  for  new  building  and 
inspected  the  measurement  of  the  ore  every  four  weeks.  The  city 
council  with  the  associates  established  the  rate  of  wages  and 
forbade  any  associate  or  owner  of  a  smelting-house  to  raise  the 
price  of  such  supplies  as  wood  and  charcoal  without  giving  notice. 
Of  the  lower  mine  officials  the  ordinance  mentions  by  name  only 
the  secretary  and  inspector.  A  court  which  was  in  session  four 
times  a  year  settled  all  disputes  in  accordance  with  mine  law. 
Very  striking  are  the  regulations  which  governed  the  ownership 
of  shares  in  the  Rammelsberg  and  in  the  neighboring  smelting- 
houses.  Only  citizens  of  Goslar  might  hold  such  property  and  they 
must  have  the  consent  of  the  council,  gilds  and  people  of  the  city. 
Any  shareholder  removing  from  the  town  had  to  sell  his  holdings 
within  two  years,  while  anyone  inheriting  such  property  had  either 
to  move  to  Goslar  or  sell  his  share  to  a  burgher  of  that  city. 

In  his  ordinance  of  1552  for  the  Rammelsberg30  Henry's  object 
was  to  repair  the  damage  wrought  by  his  struggles  with  Goslar, 
and  bring  the  "mines  and  smelting-houses  once  more  into  activ- 
ity." In  the  main  he  recognized  existing  conditions  for  he  chose 
officials  who  understood  the  situation  in  the  mine  and  possibly 
left  many  of  the  old  incumbents  undisturbed.  The  all  important 
diffierence  was  that  the  income  now  went  to  the  duke  instead  of 
to  the  city  council,  and  the  laws  seem  to  have  been  chiefly  con- 
cerned with  seeing  that  he  got  his  rights.  All  officials  were  in  the 
duke's  service  and  their  offices  were  essentially  those  which  existed 
under  the  administration  of  the  city.  They  probably  enforced  old 
laws  in  such  matters  as  disputes  between  workmen,  length  of  shifts 
and  ways  of  working.  These  officials  made  weekly  reports  of  the 
output.  The  duke  established  the  price  of  the  metal  which  was 
refined  at  the  smelting-houses  operated  in  connection  with  the 
mine.  Owners  of  these  houses  and  the  associates  paid  a  tax  for 
wood,  charcoal  and  water.  The  privileges  connected  with  the 
mine  no  longer  belonged  exclusively  to  citizens  of  Goslar  but  were 
open  to  all.  Henry,  in  order  to  attract  workers,  introduced  the 
privileges  enjoyed  in  the  Upper  Harz  into  the  Rammelsberg, 
offered  to  loan  capital  to  those  wishing  to  operate  mines  or  smelt- 
ing-houses,31 and  not  only  put  in  operation  the  galleries  which  had 

80  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  1058. 

31  Neuburg,  op.  cit.,  320.    Such  loans  from  the  profits  of  the  mines  were 
customary  in  the  Upper  Harz  and  in  Saxony. 


30  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

been  constructed  by  the  council  earlier  in  the  century,  but  had 
many  new  ones  built.  During  his  reign  156  fathoms  in  all  were 
dug,  each  fathom  representing  from  two  and  a  half  to  three  weeks 
of  time,  and  a  cost  of  65  Reichsthaler .  The  enlargement  of  the 
mine  ceased  here  because,  as  the  duke  said:  "We  put  in  galleries 
and  do  not  live  to  see  the  outcome."32  This  exploitation  by  the 
duke  was  necessary  because  even  the  privileges  he  offered  failed 
to  attract  investors  in  sufficient  numbers.  This  change  in  owner- 
ship and  in  the  principles  on  which  the  mine  was  conducted, 
marked  the  end  of  its  most  prosperous,  most  interesting  period. 

Naturally  Henry's  dispute  with  Goslar  made  itself  felt  in 
the  duke's  mining  towns  of  the  Upper  Harz,  only  a  few  miles  from 
the  Rammelsberg.  Hake's  entry  for  the  year  154233  tells 
of  the  fear  in  which  the  miners  lived  of  attacks  from 
the  Schmalkald  League  and  from  Goslar,  both  enemies  of 
their  imprisoned  lord.  Goslar  from  the  first  had  been  jealous  of 
these  new  towns  which  in  the  future  might  prove  formidable 
rivals.  Her  quarrel  with  Henry  gave  the  opportunity,  only  too 
eagerly  grasped,  "to  pull  a  feather"  from  the  mine  cities.  An 
attack  on  Zellerfeld  was  made  by  a  company  of  three  hundred 
from  Goslar  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  mining  towns  had  been 
forced  by  the  fortunes  of  war  to  swear  allegiance  to  the  Schmalkald 
leaders.  The  neighbors  of  Zellerfeld,  Wildemann,  Gittelde  und 
Grund  also  suffered  in  the  same  way. 

Henry's  quarrel  with  Goslar  over  the  Rammelsberg  had 
broadened  until  it  became  part  of  the  great  religious  struggle  of  the 
century.  The  way  in  which  the  religious  disputes  colored  politics 
may  be  seen  from  the  following  verses  of  the  "Poem  wherein  it 
is  shown  how  pure  is  Duke  Henry  of  Brunswick  and  how  wicked 
are  Lutherans,"  written  about  1540.34 

Wider  diesen  untreuen  Mann 
Goslar  kein  recht  erlangen  kann 
Auskeiner  andern  Sachen  nit, 
Denn  dass  sie  sind  lutherisch  mit; 
Denn  die  lutherischen  Knaben 
Mussen  allzeit  unrecht  haben, 
Wenn  sie  auch  gleich  gehorsam  sein 

32  Neuberg,  op.  cit.,  219;  Hake,  Bergchronik,  59,  6. 

"Ibid.,  48. 

"Published  by  Koldewey,  Heinz  von  Wolfenbuttel,  inV.R.G.,  1883,  18. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  31 

Gott  dem  Herrn  und  ihrem  Kaiser  fein, 
Allezeit  miissen  haben  recht 
Papst,  Monch,  Pfaffen,  und  ihre  Knecht; 
Wenn  sie  gleich  wider  Gott  leben, 
Auch  wider  des  Kaisers  Gesetz  streben. 
So  ist's  ihnen  alles  vergeben, 
Wenn  sie  nur  den  Papst  erheben, 
Wider  den  Luther  heftig  reden, 
Uber  Gott  und  sein  Wort  schweben. 

After  the  formation  of  the  Catholic  League  in  1538  the  leaders 
more  than  ever  held  themselves  ready  for  war.  Soon  after  this 
the  Lutheran  princes  seemed  at  their  strongest.  The  successors 
of  George  of  Saxony,  Henry  and  his  son  Maurice  joined  the  League 
of  Schmalkald,  while  Joachim  II  of  Brandenburg  also  put  himself 
on  the  reforming  side.  Alone  in  north  Germany,  Henry  of  Bruns- 
wick remained  true  to  the  faith  of  the  emperor.  At  this  time  both 
sides  indulged  in  the  bitterest  invectives  expressed  in  pamphlets 
which  the  printing  press  scattered  broadcast  over  Germany.  The 
enmity  against  Henry  of  Brunswick  was  increased  by  the  failure 
of  his  private  life  to  meet  even  the  lax  standards  of  the  day.  The 
long  imprisonment  of  his  brother  William,  his  disregard  of  justice 
in  the  Dellinghausen  affair,  his  intrigue  with  Eva  von  Trott,  all 
told  against  him.  So  unpopular  was  he  that  at  the  Diet  of  Regens- 
burg  where  Charles  was  beset  with  complaints  against  his  faithful 
vassal,  some  of  the  princes  even  refused  to  shake  his  hand.35 
The  Peasants'  Revolt  of  1525,  for  which  many  held  the  teach- 
of  Luther  responsible,  so  strengthened  Henry  of  Brunswick  in  his 
opposition  to  the  new  religion,  that  in  June  of  that  year  with  Arch- 
bishop Albert  of  Mainz  and  Magdeburg,  the  Elector  Joachim  of 
Brandenburg,  George  of  Saxony  and  Erich  of  Calenberg,  he 
formed  a  defensive  alliance  against  the  Lutherans.36  It  was  Henry 
of  Brunswick  who  was  sent  to  Seville  to  beg  the  protection  of  the 
Emperor  Charles  for  this  union.  Further  proof  of  the  duke's 
allegiance  to  his  sovereign  was  given  in  1528  when  with  a  thousand 
of  his  own  soldiers  he  took  part  in  the  siege  of  Lodi.37  Henry's 
loyalty  was  tested  in  the  matter  of  the  Wiirtemburg  lands,  which 
the  emperor  had  confiscated  after  their  owner,  Duke  Ulrich  had 

w  Heinemann,  op.  cit.<  II,  349,  359. 
*  Ibid.,  II,  340. 
»/«i,JI,  341, 


32  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

been  expelled  by  the  Swabian  League.38  Henry's  jealousy  of  the 
rights  of  his  class  brought  about  his  alliance  with  his  friend  Philip 
of  Hesse  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  the  possessions  of  the  injured 
prince  (April  1530).  Ulrich  was  Henry's  brother-in-law;  moreover 
Philip  promised  the  return  service  of  helping  the  duke  of  Bruns- 
wick in  his  difficulties  with  the  city  of  Goslar,  but  when  it  came  to 
the  point  Philip  was  not  willing  to  risk  an  open  defiance  of  the 
emperor.39  At  the  end  of  1530,  the  defensive  League  of  Schmal- 
kald  was  formed  by  the  Protestant  princes,  and  in  1538  at  Nurem- 
berg, the  Catholic  emperor,  with  the  elector  of  Mainz,  the 
dukes  of  Bavaria,  the  archbishop  of  Salzburg  and  Erich  of  Bruns- 
wick united  against  them.  Henry  of  Brunswick  acted  as  leader 
in  northern  Germany.40  In  1539  the  Protestant  strength  was 
vastly  increased  by  the  accession  of  Saxony  and  Brandenburg. 
This  left  Henry  the  only  Catholic  prince  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  Empire  and  made  him  feel  that  he  "was  surrounded  by  dogs 
and  must  be  ready  for  daily  slaps  on  the  face."41  He  was  already 
at  odds  with  Philip  of  Hesse  because  on  December  30,  1538, 
the  latter  had  read  the  private  despatches  of  Henry's  messenger, 
Stephen  Schmidt.  From  this  time  dated  the  bitter  war  of  pamph- 
lets which  lasted  for  several  years,  during  which  Henry  and  the 
Protestant  leaders  tried  to  outdo  each  other  in  calling  names  and 
making  accusations.  In  these  verses  where  the  intense  personal 
feeling  on  all  political,  religious  and  social  matters  found  unre- 
strained expression,  is  seen  the  opposition  estimate  of  Henry's 
character.42  Their  accuracy  is  of  course,  not  to  be  trusted.  Even 
Luther  did  not  hesitate  to  soil  his  pen  in  this  degrading  give  and 
take,  and  wrote  his  famous  pamphlet  "Wider  Hans  Worst." 
The  coarseness  of  this  exchange  is  indicative  of  the  low  standards 
of  the  period;  unfortunately  Henry's  private  life  as  well  as  his 
public  career  offered  many  vulnerable  points  for  attack. 

At  the  Diet  which  opened  in  Regensburg  in  April,  1541, 
all  difficulties  which  had  come  up  between  Henry  and  the  League 
of  Schmalkald  were  to  be  considered.43  Goslar  and  Brunswick, 

38  Armstrong,  The  Emperor  Charles  V,  I,  49. 
89  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  344. 
40  Koldewey,  op.  cit.,  7. 
11  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  353. 

"Many  of  these  verses  are  published  by  Koldewey,  V.  R.  G.,  1883, 
also  in  the  Z.  N.  S.,  1850. 
43  Koldewey,  op.  cit.,  21. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  33 

both  members  of  the  league  had  their  complaints;  moreover 
Henry  was  supposed  to  be  the  instigator  of  the  mysterious  fires  to 
which  Protestants  in  his  dominions  were  subject.44  Then  it  was, 
that  because  of  the  duke's  reputation  many  of  the  princes  refused 
to  shake  hands  with  him.  In  April  Luther's  pamphlet  against 
Henry  was  circulated  at  Regensburg,  its  stinging  words  being 
directed  against  his  adultery,  his  treatment  of  Dellinghausen,  and 
his  devotion  to  the  Catholic  party.4*  The  emperor  was  in  a 
difficult  position  for  he  wished  to  stand  by  his  faithful  subject, 
yet  needed  Protestant  support  against  the  invading  Turk.  Noth- 
ing was  accomplished;  affairs  between  Henry  and  the  Protestant 
league  were  only  made  worse  by  the  Diet,  while  the  prince's 
disputes  with  Goslar  and  Brunswick  were  not  settled  for  another 
ten  years. 

These  quarrels  developed  soon  after  the  Diet  of  Regensburg, 
until  prince  and  burghers  were  practically  at  war.  At  length  the 
leaders  of  the  League  of  Schmalkald,  the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  and 
the  elector  of  Saxony  determined  to  come  to  the  assistance  of  their 
allies,  and  in  July  1542,  invaded  the  duchy  of  Brunswick.46 
Henry  had  no  strength  for  fighting  and  fled  to  the  Catholic  duke 
of  Bavaria  for  assistance.  Wolfenbuttel,  the  best  fortified 
city  of  Henry's  lands  was  the  only  one  to  offer  any  resistance, 
but  on  the  twelfth  of  August  even  this  stronghold  was  taken  by 
the  Protestants.  The  precipitate  flight  of  Henry  gave  rise  to 
another  crop  of  more  or  less  scurrilous  verses  whose  point  was 
made  at  his  expense,  and  left  the  Protestant  leaders  in  posses- 
sion of  the  duchy  of  Brunswick.  The  evangelical  form  of  worship 
was  established  throughout  the  duke's  dominions,  for  religious 
interest  was  far  from  having  been  obscured  by  political  ambition.47 
The  duchy,  surrounded  as  it  was  by  Lutheran  influence,  received 
without  friction  the  church  ordinance  issued  by  the  League  of 
Schmalkald  in  1543.  The  problem  of  the  government  of  the 
territory  was  more  difficult.  The  victors  considered  placing 

44  Rehtmeier,  op.  tit.,  898. 
46  Koldewey,  op.  «/.,  25. 

46  Issleib,  Philip p  von  Hessen,  Heinrich  von  Braunschweig  und  Moritz  von 
Sachsen.    Jb.  G.  V.  B.,  1903.    The  agreement,  dated  Naumburg,  October 
26,  1541,  between  Elector  John  Frederick,  Maurice  and  Philip  of  Hesse  to 
invade  Henry's  lands  is  published  by  Brandenburg,  Politische  Korrespondenz 
des  Herzogs  und  Kurfursten  Moritz  von  Sachsen,  I,  no.  228. 

47  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  363. 


34  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

one  of  Henry's  sons  in  power,  but  this  and  various  other  plans 
were  discarded  in  favor  of  a  council,  resident  at  Wolfenbiittel. 
This  council  was  headed  by  two  governors,  the  Saxon  Bernhard 
von  Mila  and  the  Hessian  Henry  Lersener,  and  was  made  up  of 
an  equal  number  of  Saxons  and  Hessians.48 

Meanwhile  Henry  left  no  stone  unturned  which  might  help 
him  to  regain  his  lands.  The  emperor  was  not  willing  to  antagon- 
ize the  powerful  Protestant  princes  whose  help  he  needed  by 
taking  a  definite  stand  in  Henry's  favor.  Nor  did  the  Catholic 
dukes  of  Bavaria  do  anything  in  the  matter.  The  question  of  the 
Brunswick  lands  was  of  imperial  importance,  and  was  discussed 
in  the  diets  held  at  Nuremberg,  Regensburg,  Speier  and  Worms 
(1 543-45). 49  Henry  went  as  far  as  Cremona  to  meet  the  emperor 
and  accompanied  his  train  to  Brussels  hoping  thus  to  curry  favor 
and  eventually  to  regain  his  lands.  The  duke  was  still  in  the 
entourage  of  Charles  when  he  presided  at  the  Diet  of  Speier  in 
1544.  At  this  juncture  the  Peace  of  Crepy  made  with  Francis  I, 
freed  Charles  so  that  he  could  attend  to  German  affairs.  At  the 
Diet  of  Worms  (1545),  in  spite  of  Henry's  protests,  the  Brunswick 
lands  were  declared  sequestered,  and  the  emperor  put  them  under 
the  control  of  the  elector  of  the  Palatinate  and  the  Landgrave 
Hans  of  Simmern.80  Obviously  Henry  could  not  now  expect  that 
his  lands  would  be  restored  by  legal  means;  his  only  hope  lay  in 
the  attempt  to  regain  them  by  force.  Since  he  could  not  obtain 
allies  he  determined  to  help  himself,  and  with  the  aid  of  French 
gold  raised  an  army  with  which  in  the  fall  of  1 545  he  entered  his 
dominions.  He  conquered,  and  proceeded  as  far  as  Wolfenbuttel, 
and  once  more  the  mass  was  celebrated  in  Brunswick.  When  the 
news  of  his  progress  reached  the  Protestant  leaders,  Philip 
of  Hesse  aided  by  Maurice  of  Saxony  advanced  against  Henry, 
meeting  him  at  Hockelheim  in  the  neighborhood  of  Northeim. 
Maurice  was  loath  to  fight  and  tried  to  bring  about  some  sort  of 
peaceful  agreement,  but  Philip  made  impossible  demands  asking 

48  Koldewey,    op.  cit.,  55;    Die  Reformation  des    Herzogthums  Braun- 
schweig-Wolf enbiittel  .  .  .  1542-1547.    Z.  N.  S.,  1868,  250. 

49  Koldewey,  Heinz  von  Wolfenbuttel,  58.    The  absorbing  interest  of  the 
question  of  the  Brunswick  lands  to  the  Protestant  leaders  of  north  Germany 
from  1542  until  1547  may  be  seen  in  the  Politische  Korrespondenz  des  Herzogs 
und  Kurfiirsten  M oritz  v on  Sachsen,  published  by  Brandenburg. 

10  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  371  ff. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK- WOLFENBUTTEL  35 

Henry  not  only  to  restore  the  evangelical  form  of  worship  but  to 
give  himself  up  as  a  prisoner.51  Of  course  these  were  refused.62 
In  the  end  Maurice,  angry  at  Henry's  rejection  of  these  peace 
offers,  decided  to  fight.  Henry  was  not  strong  enough  to  win  the 
battle,  and  because  he  could  not  pay  his  troops  he  feared  that 
they  might  take  revenge  on  his  person.  So  as  a  bitter  alternative, 
the  duke  with  his  son  Karl  Victor  gave  himself  a  prisoner  to 
Maurice  and  was  taken  by  his  former  friend  to  Ziegehain  in 
Saxony  (October  21-22,  1545).  Although  Brandenburg  esti- 
mates this  as  a  mere  episode  in  the  greater  party  quarrels  of  the 
Reformation  he  says:  "We  must  recognize  in  it  an  important  link 
in  the  chain  of  cause  and  effect  which  brought  about  in  the  years 
following  the  great  downfall  of  the  Schmalkald  League."53  The 
imprisonment  of  Henry  was  the  signal  for  a  fresh  crop  of  pamphlets 
against  him.  Luther,  in  his  circular  letter  to  the  elector  and  land- 
grave, wrote  his  last  word  concerning  the  Catholic  leader  speaking 
of  the  capture  of  "den  Heintz  von  Wolfenbuttel"  as  a  blow  to  the 
pope  and  the  whole  body  of  the  papacy.54 

It  was  the  trend  of  the  Schmalkald  War  which  finally  set 
Henry  and  his  son  free  after  nearly  two  years  in  prison.  After  his 
victory  at  Muhlberg  (1547),  the  emperor  made  Henry's  release  a 
condition  of  his  settlement  with  Philip  of  Hesse.  Henry  and 
Philip  also  reached  an  agreement  on  June  14,  1547,  in  which 
the  former  promised  not  to  persecute  any  one  within  his 
dominions  on  religious  grounds.  His  subjects  were  released  from 
their  oaths  to  Philip  and  John  Frederick,  and  Henry  returned  to 
the  possession  of  his  inheritance.  With  the  aim  of  wiping  out  all 
traces  of  the  foreign  occupation  the  duke  rebuilt  his  capital, 
Wolfenbuttel,55  reorganized  his  mines,56  and  under  the  influence  of 
the  Interim  of  Charles  V,  proceeded  to  restore  the  Catholic 

81  Brandenburg,  Der  Gefangennahme  Heinrichs  von  Braunschweig,  36. 

82  Ibid.,  46.    The  prince  "wolten  fur  ire  person  frey  sein,  bey  dem  alter 
christlichen  glauben  und  religion  zu  pleiben  und  des  conciliums  erklerung 
deshalben  zu  gewarten." 

18  Ibid.,  67,  72.  For  another  interpretation  of  these  events  see  Issleib, 
op.  cit.  Also  Wolf,  Zur  Gefangennahme  Heinrichs  von  Braunschweig,  Archiv 
fdr  Sachs.  Gesch.,  1905. 

84  Koldewey,  Heinz  von  Wolfenbuttel,  65. 

"  Ibid.,  II,  377;Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  376,  377. 

*  Hake,  Bergchronik,  54,  40  ff. 


36  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

worship.  Little  resistance  was  made,  though  the  city  of  Bruns- 
wick of  course  remained  Protestant.67  As  Rehtmeier  says: 
"Thus  was  Henry  the  Younger  after  his  imprisonment  a  mighty 
and  rich  lord,  head  of  the  lower  Saxon  circle,  knight  of  the  Golden 
Fleece,  and  on  all  sides  held  in  great  esteem."  But  Henry's  motto 
still  held  true,  for  there  was  as  yet  no  peace  for  him.  In  1552  his 
lands  were  most  disastrously  invaded  by  Count  Wolradt  of  Mans- 
feld,  and  directly  afterwards  he  became  involved  in  much  more 
serious  complications  with  Albert  of  Brandenburg.  This  last 
named  prince  after  helping  the  emperor  at  the  siege  of  Metz, 
wantonly  plundered  the  bishoprics  of  Wiirzburg  and  Bamberg.58 
To  check  him,  King  Ferdinand,  Maurice  of  Saxony  and  Henry 
of  Brunswick  formed  an  alliance  in  May  1553.  Albert,  counting 
on  help  from  the  many  enemies  of  Henry  of  Brunswick  and  hoping 
to  effect  a  union  with  Erich  of  Calenberg,  started  toward  north  Sax- 
ony, plundering  and  burning  as  he  went.  On  the  18th  of  June,  the 
intruder  succeeded  in  entering  the  town  of  Brunswick  which  was 
still  at  odds  with  its  duke.  Thence  he  occupied  Hanover  and 
harried  the  bishopric  of  Mindeh.  The  members  of  the  league 
united  and  advanced  on  Albert  who  tried  to  reach  the  city  of 
Brunswick  in  safety.  He  failed  and  the  armies  met  on  July  9, 
at  Sievershausen,  about  half  way  between  Brunswick  and  Han- 
over. Here  Albert  was  worsted,  but  at  a  terrible  cost,  for  Maurice 
of  Saxony  was  killed  and  Henry  of  Brunswick  received  the  severest 
blow  of  his  long,  hard  life  in  the  death  of  those  congenial  fighting 
comrades,  his  two  oldest  sons.  This  victory  and  the  death  of 
Albert  a  few  years  later  left  Henry  the  most  powerful  of  the  north 
German  princes.  He  took  advantage  of  his  position  to  make 
peace  on  favorable  terms  with  his  rivals  and  enemies.69 

Among  Henry's  enemies  were  numbered  not  only  Goslar  and 
the  Protestant  league,  but  his  own  city  of  Brunswick  which 
aspired  to  become  politically  independent.  Closely  bound  with 
the  political,  was  the  commercial  aspect  of  the  quarrel.  The 
constant  friction  which  resulted  from  the  attempted  control  by 
the  Catholic  duke  of  the  Protestant  burghers  only  made  matters 
worse. 

67  Koldewey,  Heinz  von  Wolfenbiittel,  67;  Koll,  op.  cit.,  85. 

68  Rehtmeier,    op.  cit.,  917  ff;    Hake,  Bergchronik,  59,  36;    Heinemann, 
op.  cit.,  II,  382. 

69  Ibid.,  II,  385,  391. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  B  RUNS  WICK- WOLFENBUTTEL      37 

The  disputes  and  bickerings  more  or  less  acute  between  Henry 
and  the  most  powerful  city  within  his  dominions  were  no  new  or 
uncommon  thing.  They  lasted  until  the  year  of  Sievershausen 
(1553),  when  the  Great  Treaty  was  signed.  Brunswick  had  long 
aspired  to  independence  and  during  the  thirteenth  century  had 
made  three  attempts  to  break  away  from  its  dukes  and  become  a 
free  imperial  city.60  During  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries 
the  dukes  who  were  weak  and  often  creditors  of  the  city  were 
forced  gradually  to  increase  its  privileges  until  it  was  treated 
almost  like  a  free  city.  It  was  a  member  of  the  Hanse  and  in  1507 
was  cited  to  the  Diet  of  Constance.61  Henry  the  Elder  (1491- 
1514),  the  father  of  Henry  the  Younger,  tried  to  make  the  town 
dependent  on  him,  but  was  circumvented  by  the  appeal  of  Bruns- 
wick to  the  emperor.  In  the  treaty  of  1494  the  city  did  indeed 
pay  homage  to  its  duke  but  received  in  return  substantial  privi- 
leges. Four  years  later  he  was  force  to  grant  the  citizens  two  free 
markets,  and  in  1506  the  right  of  protecting  the  Jews.  After  his 
death  the  city  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Henry  the  Younger 
without  pro  test  (July  1515)  and  in  re  turn  the  new  duke  granted  the 
privileges  given  by  his  father.62  In  payment  of  a  loan  the  duke 
was  forced  to  allow  the  citizens  of  Brunswick  an  old  right,  that  of 
trading  free  of  customs  throughout  the  duchy.  During  the  period 
of  the  Hildesheim  feud  the  city  gave  Henry  an  army  on  the 
promise  of  one  half  the  booty.63  In  1521  the  Emperor  Charles 
confirmed  to  the  city  the  privilege  of  holding  two  free  yearly 
markets  which  had  been  granted  by  Henry  the  Elder  and  Maxi- 
milian.64 Relations  with  the  duke  must  have  been  friendly  in 
1525,  for  in  that  year  the  city  stood  sponser  for  his  son  Karl 
Victor.  The  city  and  the  duke  were  united  against  the  Lutheran 
teaching  during  the  Peasants'  Revolt  and  when  Henry  left  the 
country  soon  afterwards  he  bade  the  council  of  Brunswick  "look 
after  the  welfare  of  his  duchy."  Against  the  spirit  of  their  promise 
the  city  fathers  introduced  the  Reformation  while  Henry  was  in 
Italy  with  the  emperor.  The  ruler  returned  in  July,  1528,  to  find 

60  Hassebrauk,  Heinrich  der  Jungere  und  die  Stadt  Braunschweig.    Jb. 
G.  V.  B.,  1906,  1. 

61  Ibid.,  12. 

62  Urkundenbuch  der  Stadt  Braunschweig,  291.  This  oath  in  the  same  Low 
German  form  may  be  traced  back  to  1400. 

63  Hassebrauk,  op.  cit.,  11. 

64  Urkundenbuch  der  Stadt  Braunschweig,  295. 


38  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514r-1589 

the  change  an  accomplished  fact,  in  Brunswick  as  in  Goslar.6* 
In  answer  to  the  complaint  of  the  duke  and  the  emperor  the  city 
claimed  that  the  duke's  rights  had  never  been  interfered  with  and 
that  anyone  so  desiring  might  attend  Catholic  service.  When  in 
1531  Henry  made  the  Augsburg  regulations  binding  on  all  the 
land,  the  council  and  people  of  the  city  of  Brunswick  refused  to 
accept  the  ruling  and  the  friendship  between  the  duke  and  the  city 
was  broken.  In  the  same  year  Brunswick  definitely  ranged 
itself  on  the  side  of  the  duke's  enemies  by  joining  the  League  of 
Schmalkald.  The  duke  was  further  infuriated  in  1540  by  the 
closing  of  the  monasteries  of  Saint  Blasius  and  Saint  Cyriacus, 
which  had  always  stood  in  the  closest  relation  to  his  house. 
As  the  result  of  daily  rubs  the  unfriendliness  between  Henry  and 
Brunswick  developed  into  open  war.  Of  course  the  emperor  took 
the  side  of  the  Catholic  leader  and  ordered  the  city  council  (Feb- 
ruary, 1540)  to  recognize  the  sovereignty  and  jurisdiction  of  the 
duke  over  all  disputed  monasteries,  and  to  hold  itself  amenable  to 
the  ducal  court.66  It  was  at  this  time  that  Henry,  at  war  also 
with  Goslar,  was  charged  with  carrying  out  the  ban  against  that 
city.  From  this  time  the  struggles  of  Henry  with  his  chief  city 
became  part  of  his  war  with  the  League  of  Schmalkald  and  of  the 
larger  Reformation  history.  Economic  causes  entered  largely,  and 
there  were  many  such  complaints  on  the  part  of  the  burghers  as  that 
Henry's  men  made  the  roads  unsafe  for  merchants  on  their  way 
to  the  Leipzig  Fair.  We  have  seen  that  the  Diet  of  Regensburg 
failed  to  settle  Henry's  difficulties  with  the  Schmalkald  League  or 
with  Goslar.  The  case  was  the  same  with  Brunswick  and  the 
duke  continued  to  molest  travelers  on  the  commercial  routes  and 
to  take  their  goods  and  claim  tribute.  When  in  May,  1541,  Henry 
demanded  from  the  city  council  the  tax  to  be  used  against  the 
Turks,  the  city  fathers  as  a  sign  of  their  independence  sent  their 
share  to  the  treasury  of  the  circle  in  Hanover.67  In  September, 
1545,  Henry  ordered  the  gild  masters,  the  members  of  the  council 
and  the  leaders  of  the  common  people  to  abandon  the  league  and 
return  to  Catholicism.68  Receiving  no  answer,  the  duke  tried  to 

65  Hassebrauk,  op.  cit.,  14  ff. 
<*Ibid.,  18,  35. 

67  Ibid.,  37. 

68  The  demand  is  printed  by  von  Strombeck  in  Neu&s  Vaterland.    Archiv. 
des  Konigreichs  Hannover,  1829,  3. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  39 

burn  the  city  and  by  getting  control  of  the  highways  closed  all 
access  to  the  town.  On  October  8, 1545,  the  council,  the  masters  of 
gilds,  and  the  whole  city  of  Brunswick  signed  a  letter  which  they 
addressed  to  "Highborn  Prince,  Ungracious  Lord."  The  quarrel 
hurt  the  investors  in  Henry's  mines  who  lived  in  Brunswick,  for 
while  it  lasted  he  marketed  his  surplus  metal  and  wool  in  Leipzig 
where  he  kept  an  agent  for  that  purpose.  In  exchange,  the  needs 
of  his  chancery  and  court  of  Wolfenbiittel  were  satisfied 
by  goods  bought  at  the  Leipzig  Fair  rather  than  in  Brunswick.69 

After  Henry's  release  from  captivity  in  1547,  the  council  of 
Brunswick  begged  for  "negotiations  and  a  treaty,"  and  were  even 
willing  to  pay  taxes  to  their  lord.  But  when  it  came  to  obeying 
the  Interim,  which  Henry  in  his  efforts  to  restore  Catholicism 
wished  observed,  the  burghers  refused  even  to  post  the  duke's 
orders.70  Philip  of  Hesse's  early  taunt  at  Henry's  powerlessness 
was  still  true.  A  Hessian  chronicle  relates  that  one  day  the  two 
lords  were  together  at  Wolfenbiittel  when  seeing  the  towers  of 
of  Brunswick  in  the  distance,  Henry  asked,  "Have  you  a  city 
equal  to  mine?"  "Yes,"  answered  landgrave,  "it  is  a  splendid, 
great  city,  but  what  good  is  it  to  you?  You  dare  not  command 
any  one  living  in  it  even  to  pick  up  a  stalk  of  straw.  They  do 
exactly  as  they  please."71  Henry  could  always  strike  Brunswick 
through  her  commerce,  and  in  his  rage  at  the  refusal  of  the  council 
to  obey  the  Interim,  he  closed  the  great  highway  to  Leipzig, 
forcing  traffic  to  use  the  byways  leading  through  Wolfenbiittel 
and  thus  to  pay  custom  duties.  This  hurt  Brunswick  trade  so 
much  that  Liibeck  (the  Hanse  had  so  far  kept  out  of  the  struggle), 
tried  to  interfere,  as  did  Philip  of  Grubenhagen  on  behalf  of  his 
subjects.  In  revenge  the  men  of  Brunswick  fell  on  the  monastery 
of  Riddagshausen  which  belonged  to  the  duke,  destroyed  all  they 
could  lay  hands  on,  "and  took  also  all  the  lead  with  which  the 
beautiful  great  church  was  covered."  'In  1550  Henry  besieged  the 
city  for  eight  weeks,  burning  grain  and  windmills  and  cutting  off 
the  river  Oker  so  that  the  people  suffered  from  lack  of  water 
within  the  city. 

After  the  peace  with  Goslar  (June  1552),  and  the  battle  of 
Sievershausen  (1553),  Henry  was  free  to  devote  all  his  strength 

69  Alterthumer  Braunschweig,  97. 

70  Hassebrauk,  op.  cit.,  48. 

71  Printed  in  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  378. 


40  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

to  the  settlement  of  the  Brunswick  problem.  In  September  he 
began  a  siege  of  the  city,  intending  to  conquer  in  real  earnest.72 
It  is  impossible  to  say  how  far  the  duke's  vengeance  might  have 
gone  had  not  the  emperor  and  the  cities  of  Nuremberg,  Einbeck, 
Hildesheim  and  Gottingen  interposed  and  demanded  peace. 
The  Great  Treaty  which  for  long  years  remained  the  basis  of  the 
relations  between  the  city  and  its  lords  was  signed  October  20, 
1553.73  By  this  the  city  promised  to  recognize  the  duke  and  his 
heirs  as  overlords  and  to  respect  the  jus  patronatus;  the  duke 
might  tax  the  city,  but  the  burghers  must  again  be  recognized 
in  his  Landtag.  On  one  of  the  sorest  points,  that  of  the  mortgaged 
lands,  Henry  was  victorious.  The  city  was  free  to  choose  its  own 
religion,  while  the  duke  decided  for  the  surrounding  rural  dis- 
tricts. The  terms  of  this  treaty  seemed  on  the  whole  to  strengthen 
the  duke's  position  though  he  lost  on  the  religious  count.  In 
token  of  good  will,  the  city  fathers  presented  the  young  ducal 
heir,  Julius,  with  a  mount  and  an  elaborate  saddle.  At  this  peace 
celebration  Henry  said:  "Now,  dear  citizens,  all  is  forgotten  and 
forgiven  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart.  I  will  always  be  and 
remain  your  gracious  lord."  After  the  peace  was  made  Henry's 
finances  revived  and  he  wanted  to  buy  back  the  land  he  had 
mortgaged  to  the  city.  As  had  been  the  case  with  Goslar  years 
before,  the  council  objected,  and  the  quarrels  in  the  imperial  court 
over  this  question  lasted  until  Henry's  death.  Though  there  was 
no  lack  of  difficulties  throughout  Henry's  life,  conditions  between 
him  and  the  city  were  much  happier  after  1553.  The  fact  that 
emperor  after  emperor  during  the  century  confirmed  the  old 
privileges  of  the  city  of  Brunswick  and  even  added  to  them  shows, 
if  not  active  unpleasantness  between  the  dukes  and  city  council, 
at  least  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  latter  to  fortify  themselves 
against  their  ruler  by  an  appeal  to  a  higher  authority.74  The 
condolences  offered  by  the  city  council  to  Julius  on  the  death  of 
the  old  duke  seem  more  than  empty  words  and  show  a  real  appre- 
ciation of  the  fact  that  Henry  had  aided  the  prosperity  of  his 
greatest  city. 

72  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  388. 

73  For  text,  see  Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  924. 

74  Urkundenbuch  der  Stadt  Braunschweig,  374,  377,  379,  507,  511,  514, 
etc.,  etc. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  41 

As  has  been  seen,  religion  was  for  the  fighting  Duke  Henry, 
involved  as  he  was  in  the  tangled  intrigues  of  his  time  and  country, 
a  matter  not  of  piety  but  of  politics.  Defection  from  Rome  meant 
for  him  the  loss  of  the  emperor's  support  and  consequently  of  a 
part  at  least  of  his  own  power  as  prince.  His  advice  to  Charles 
at  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  to  concede  the  Protestant  demands 
shows  a  lack  of  true  religious  feeling,  rather  than  a  real  spirit  of 
toleration.  Koll  says:  "If  the  emperor  at  Worms  had  declared 
for  Luther  no  prince  would  have  expelled  the  papists  more  prompt- 
ly than  Henry."75  His  friendship  with  the  Protestant  Philip  of 
Hesse  shows  that  politics  were  more  important  than  religion  to 
the  duke  of  Brunswick.  Policy  also  directed  his  tolerant  attitude 
toward  the  Lutheran  mining  communities  of  the  Upper  Harz. 
On  his  return  from  captivity,  the  duke  held  at  Easter,  1548,  an 
assembly  in  Wolfenbuttel,  at  which  he  instructed  all  his  subjects 
to  accept  the  Interim  and  ordered  all  evangelical  preachers  to 
leave  his  land.  Though  this  edict  was  not  thoroughly  enforced 
it  shows  Henry's  attitude.  In  1553  he  was  compelled  to  allow  the 
city  of  Brunswick  uninterrupted  observance  of  the  Lutheran 
faith.76  With  age  Henry  apparently  developed  an  element  of  per- 
sonal religion.  He  had  studied  the  Bible  carefully  while  in  prison 
and  during  his  later  years  showed  a  more  lenient  attitude  toward 
those  who  did  not  agree  with  him.  He  hoped  that  a  church 
council  would  settle  all  these  difficulties  and  was  none  too  friendly 
to  the  religious  peace  of  Augsburg.  However,  in  1568,  in  a  state- 
ment made  to  the  princes  and  nobles  of  the  lower  Saxon  circle, 
h£  admitted  the  truth  of  the  Augsburg  confession.77  It  was 
probably  in  reference  to  this  that  his  son  Julius,  a  Protestant,  in 
the  introduction  to  his  church  ordinance,  said  that  his  father  died 
a  professor  of  the  evangelical  teaching.78  Moreover  it  is  certain 
that  towards  the  end  of  his  life  Henry  permitted  Lutheran  hymns 
to  be  sung  in  the  court  chapel  and  allowed  communion  in  both 
kinds  to  be  celebrated  throughout  his  duchy.79 

76  Koll,  op.  cit.,  16,  17. 

76  Braunschweig  Hofgerichtsordnung. 

77  Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  948. 

78  "In  der  wahrhaftigen  und  seligmachenden  Erkenntniss,  seines  lieben 
Sohns  Jesu  Christi."    The  ordinance  is  published  in  the  Chur- Braunschweig- 
Lilneburgische  Landes  Ordnungen,  etc. 

79  Koldewey,  Heinz  wn  Wolfenbuttel,  68. 


42  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

Under  the  Duchess  Elisabeth,  we  have  seen  that  the  iron  mines 
in  Grund  enjoyed  such  prosperity  that  "they  were  the  subject  of 
consideration  with  the  common  man  and  with  high  potentates." 
It  was  perhaps  the  knowledge  of  her  success  which  led  Henry's 
intimate  friend,  Duke  George  of  Saxony,  to  advise  reviving 
the  ancient  silver  mines  of  the  Upper  Harz:  "Cost  what  it 
may,  there  is  sure  to  be  a  handsome  surplus  .  .  .  the  old  miners 
would  not  have  been  there  for  nothing."80  The  duke  took  the 
advice  of  his  friend.  In  1524  on  Henry's  request  Count  Stephen 
von  Schlick  sent  from  the  famous  Bohemian  mining  district  of 
St.  Joachims  thai  in  the  Erzgebirge  Wolf  Sturtz,  an  expert  miner, 
to  examine  into  the  question  of  reopening  the  Harz  silver  mines.81 
The  report  was  satisfactory  and  in  the  Upper  Harz  in  1526  they 
began  to  keep  a  record  of  the  grants  of  mines  to  investors. 

Henry's  first  mining  ordinance  issued  about  two  years  after 
the  death  of  his  grandmother  Elisabeth  was  printed  in  1524,  at 
Erfurt,  for  the  mines  "bey  Gittel  im  Grunde  gelegen."82  This 
was  evidently  a  formal  statement  by  the  owner  of  the  property. 
It  included  regulations  already  issued  in  writing,  as  well  as 
new  laws.  During  the  long  period  of  inactivity  in  these 
Upper  Harz  mines  the  local  customs  had  probably  been  for- 
gotten. Henry,  who  had  no  experience  in  mining,  was  not  likely 
to  take  his  laws  from  the  neighboring  Rammelsberg  mine  which 
was  conducted  at  this  time  by  a  company  of  the  citizens  of  Gos- 
lar.  So  it  was  natural  that  the  duke  should  seek  his  model  in 
the  famous  Saxon  code  issued  by  his  friend  Duke  George  in  1509 
for  his  prosperous  mine  at  St.  Annaberg.  The  bulk  of  the  regula- 
tions (articles  I  to  CHI)  are  identical  in  both  codes.  The  few 
published  by  Wagner  and  Giinther  are  those  in  which  some 
necessary  changes  from  the  model  were  made.  To  understand 
the  situation  one  must  consult  the  Saxon  regulations.83  Here  it  is 
a  question  not  of  a  group  of  customs  which  had  developed  in  the 
Harz,  but  of  a  ready-made  code,  transplanted  fullgrown  to  this, 
as  to  most  other  mining  localities  in  north  Germany.  This  code 
of  1524  is  undoubtedly  the  body  of  laws  which  Hake  says  was 

80  Hake,  Bergchronik,  36,  23. 

81  Malortie,  Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  Braunschweig  und  Liineburg,  IV,  152. 

82  Wagner,  Corpus  Juris,  1041;  H.  Z.,  1906,  290. 

88  Published  by  Ermisch  in  Das  Sachsische  Bergrecht  des  Mittelalters. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRTJNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  43 

mentioned  in  the  records  of  the  mine  of  1526.  Writing  during  the 
reign  of  Duke  Julius  he  was  unable  to  find  this  code  or  to  learn 
anything  of  its  contents.84 

Copies  of  this  Saxon  code,  the  first  body  of  mine  regulations  to 
be  issued  in  print,  were  rare  within  ten  years  of  its  publication, 
and  the  manuscript  has  been  lost.85  These  rules  are,  of  course, 
based  on  custom  and  are  in  the  main  like  the  ordinances  of  1499 
and  1503  issued  for  the  same  mine.  The  roots  of  these  earlier 
codes  for  St.  Annaberg  are  to  be  found  in  the  Freiberg  mining 
laws  of  the  thirteenth  century.  This  Saxon  Code  was  copied  in  the 
regulations  issued  in  1548  for  Joachimsthal  in  Bohemia,  and  one 
or  the  other  served  as  a  model  throughout  the  mining  districts  of 
north  Germany.  Thus  the  Annaberg  Code  of  1509  was  "the 
mother  of  almost  all  the  mining  codes  issued  in  north  and  central 
Germany,"  during  the  sixteenth  century.86  Its  introduction 
into  the  Harz  towns,  therefore,  becomes  a  perfectly  natural  pro- 
cess, especially  in  view  of  the  friendship  between  Henry  of  Bruns- 
wick and  Duke  George  of  Saxony  who  issued  the  code  of  1509. 

After  the  preamble,  which  states  as  the  excuse  for  the  printing 
of  the  document  the  desire  that  "ignorance  might  be  no  excuse 
for  transgressing  the  law,"  the  list  of  officials  and  their  duties 
were  established.  The  highest  official  was  the  superintendent 
(Berghauptmann)  who  represented  the  ruler  and  property  owner. 
This  was  an  office  of  high  dignity.  In  the  Harz  in  1550  it  was  held 
by  a  nobleman,  Hans  von  Wiedersdorf,  who  had  been  the  duke's 
chamberlain.87  The  duke's  superintendent  in  1589,  Georg 
Engelhard  von  Lohneisen,  must  have  been  a  man  of  great  wealth, 
for  at  Remlingen  he  built  a  country  seat  "in  the  Italian  manner, 
with  a  flat  roof."  He  was  also  a  lover  of  good  art  and  at  this 
place  had  set  up  a  printing  press,  where  "different  books 
with  wonderfully  good  letters  were  printed."88  The  other 
officials  under  the  authority  of  the  superintendent  were  the 

84  Hake,  Bergchronik,  37,  13. 

85  Ermisch,  op.  cit.,  CLX,  163. 

86  Quoted,  by  Ermisch,  op.  cit.,  CLXIV;  Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  980. 

87  Hake,  Bergchronik,  57,  2. 

88Zeiller,  op.  cit.,  175.  Lohneisen  or  Lohneyss  was  one  of  the  early 
Cameralists,  and  had  served  in  electoral  Saxony  before  coming  to  Bruns- 
wick-Wolf  enbuttel.  Upon  the  cameralists  see  A.  W.  Small,  The  Cameralists, 
Chicago  1909;  Th.  F.  Von  der  Goltz,  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Landwirtschaft, 
Berlin  1903, 1,  290-389,  and  literature  there  cited. 


44  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

master  of  the  mine  (Bergmeister) ,  a  board  of  eight  (Geschworne) 
who  were  trained  miners,  two  tithe  collectors  (Zehntner),  two 
inspectors  of  the  smel ting-houses  (Huttenreiter) ,  a  cashier  (Aus- 
theiler),  a  share  clerk  (Gegenschreiber) ,  and  a  mining  clerk  (Berg- 
schreiber)  ,89  These  officials  represented  the  ruler's  interests  and 
were  chosen  by  him.  Those  subordinate  to  the  superintendent 
might  not  leave  the  mine  without  his  permission.  The  local  ruler 
owned  all  mines  and  his  regalian  rights  were  recognized  by  the 
payment  to  him  of  a  tenth  of  the  output.  The  money  necessary  for 
developing  the  mines  was  raised  by  capitalists  who  for  some  reason 
had  been  attracted  to  the  investment.  They  were  usually  wealthy 
burghers  but  frequently  came  from  the  noble  class.  These  asso- 
ciates or  shareholders  (Gewerken)  ,90  in  their  turn  employed  their 
own  officials  who  were,  however,  responsible  to  those  of  the  lord; 
such  were  the  foreman  (Schichtmeister)  and  manager  (Steiger) 
who  employed  miners  to  do  the  actual  physical  work.  All  of 
these  officials,  employes  of  the  lord  or  of  the  capitalists,  received 
wages.  Any  profits  which  remained  after  the  lord  had  received 
his  tenth  and  all  expenses  were  paid,  accrued  to  the  shareholders 
in  proportion  to  their  investment.  As  a  rule  each  silver  mine 
was  divided  into  128  or  130  shares,  the  following  division  being 
typical;  124  were  subscribed  for;  of  the  remaining  six,  four  belonged 
to  the  owner  of  the  mine,  one  to  the  church,  and  one  to  the  mine 
city.91  As  a  rule  there  were  as  many  shareholders  as  shares  in  a 
silver  mine.  This  made  it  easier  to  get  capital  and  to  make  the 
temporary  advance  (Zubusse)  for  running  expenses  which,  even 
in  the  most  prosperous  periods  of  the  best  mines  amounted  to  three 
times  the  profit  earned  by  such  investment.92 

The  duties  of  the  superintendent  were  to  keep  the  peace,  and 
to  see  that  all  enjoyed  justice  and  observed  the  code.  The  Saxon 
ordinance  forbade  the  superintendent's  being  a  shareholder  in  the 

89  These  terms  are  those  used  in  the  Hoover  translation  of  De  Re  Meial- 
lica,  77,  n.,  1. 

90  Eisenhart  in  De  Regali  Metallifodinarium  Jure,  7,  defines  Gewerken  as 
"a  certain  number  who  form  a  society  or  company  to  operate  a  mine  at  their 
own  expense." 

91  Each  mine  in  the  Harz  was  divided  into  128  or  130  shares.    In  Joa- 
chimsthal  there  were  128.     Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  985;     Hake,  Bergchronik, 
128,  20;  Giinther,  Der  Harz,  201. 

92  Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  986.     Careful  regulations  for  the  collection  and 
repayment  of  this  sum  are  made  in  the  Saxon  Code  (Art.  55-63). 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  45 

mine.  This  was  altered  by  Henry  in  his  code  for  the  Upper  Harz 
by  the  addition  of  the  phrase  "except  with  our  permission." 
This  disability  also  applied  to  the  master  of  the  mine. 

The  chief  duty  of  the  master  of  the  mine  was  to  grant  the 
different  areas  which  were  to  be  worked.  He  assigned  new  claims 
or  old  passages  which  for  some  reason  had  been  abandoned. 
Once  a  week  he,  with  the  board  of  eight,  the  bookkeeper  and  the 
superintendent  if  possible,  met  to  make  a  record  of  these  leases. 
The  master  had  to  see  that  justice  was  done,  and  any  dispute 
concerning  the  holdings  was  verified  from  his  records.  All 
sorts  of  disputes  over  mining  affairs  came  first  to  the  master. 
If,  however,  he  failed  to  satisfy  the  contending  parties  the  affair 
was  brought  before  the  judge  and  council  of  the  city  of  St.  Anna- 
berg  who  decided  according  to  the  mine  law.  Any  miner  killing 
a  man,  except  in  self  defense,  was  banished  forever  from  the  mine 
and  city.  It  was  the  business  of  the  master  of  the  mine  and  the 
board  of  eight  to  see  that  no  unnecessary  building  was  done,  and 
for  that  reason,  no  galleries  might  be  undertaken  without  their 
permission.  The  duke's  officials,  the  superintendent  and  master 
were  superior  in  station  to  the  employes  of  the  shareholders,  the 
manager  and  inspectors,  and  were  responsible  for  the  trust- 
worthiness of  the  latter.  The  manager  might  be  discharged 
by  the  master  without  the  permission  of  the  shareholders,  but  the 
shareholders  might  not  discharge  their  own  officials  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  superintendent  and  master.  Every  quarter  the 
master  with  the  superintendent  inspected  the  manager's  accounts 
for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  investors.  No  contracts  could 
be  made  without  the  master's  consent.  The  board  of  eight 
were  responsible  to  the  master.  Their  duty  was  to  inspect  each 
mine  every  thirteen  days  to  see  how  it  was  being  worked  and  to 
enforce  the  code.  What  they  could  not  remedy  it  was  their  duty 
to  report  to  the  master  and  superintendent. 

The  bookkeeper  had  to  keep  a  record  of  all  leases  with  the  name 
of  the  shareholders  to  whom  they  were  made.  In  another  book 
kept  by  the  same  official  appeared  a  statement  of  all  taxes,  a 
record  of  permission  to  delay  new  work  (Fristung)  and  accounts. 
He  also  kept  a  record  of  all  money  invested  by  the  shareholders 
for  carrying  on  the  operations  of  the  mine  (Zubusse) .  All  these  books 
were  to  be  accessible  only  to  the  master  and  bookkeeper.  Schmoller 
considers  that  the  Saxon  regulations  in  no  small  measure  owed 


46  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

their  spread  to  this  system  of  written  records.93  The  man  who 
contracted  to  undertake  the  operation  of  the  mine  was  obliged  to 
give  it  over  to  his  associates  on  the  day  that  it  was  granted  him  or 
on  the  following  day.  With  the  knowledge  of  the  superintendent 
and  master  and  with  the  consent  of  the  majority  of  the  sharehold- 
ers, the  contractor  had  to  put  the  mine  in  charge  of  a  manager 
and  overseer  and  give  the  master  the  necessary  money  for  begin- 
ning the  work.  Neither  of  these  employes  of  the  investors  might 
enjoy  any  profit  from  the  contracts  nor  might  they  be  related  to 
the  investors. 

No  manager  might  have  charge  of  more  than  six  mines.  It 
was  his  duty  to  care  for  all  supplies  provided  by  the  company  such 
as  tallow,  iron,  rope,  buckets,  wood,  boards  and  nails  and  to  see 
that  the  laborers  had  what  they  needed.  He  gave  iron  and  tallow 
by  weight  to  the  overseer  who  in  his  turn  gave  them  to  the  miners. 
These  supplies  might  not  be  loaned  from  one  mine  (Zeche)  to 
another  without  the  master's  permission.  On  pay  day  the  mana- 
ger paid  with  good  coin  the  overseer  as  well  as  the  miners  and 
received  the  small  weekly  tax.  One  of  his  chief  duties  was  to  keep 
an  account  of  all  the  money  paid  out  and  the  value  of  the  supplies 
dispensed.  This  report  was  submitted  to  the  superintendent  and 
master.  The  manager  was  paid  by  the  company.94  The  over- 
seers, one  for  each  mine,  were  subordinate  to  the  manager  whom 
they  assisted  in  carrying  out  his  duties.  The  overseer  was  directly 
over  the  miners  and  his  chief  responsibility  was  to  see  that  they 
did  their  work  properly  and  observed  their  shifts.  He  might  not 
live  more  than  three  miles  from  the  mine.95 

In  close  connection  with  the  mine  were  the  smelting-houses 
where  except  in  unusual  cases,  local  ore  was  refined.  All  of  the  good 
ore  was  carried  to  them  in  covered  buckets  and  no  one  connected 
with  the  mine  was  allowed  to  carry  on  any  trade  in  this  raw  pro- 
duct. The  superintendent  and  master  had  to  see  that  in  each 
smeltery  was  found  a  bookkeeper  (Huttenschreiber)  capable  of 
making  a  true  record  of  all  transactions.  It  was  his  duty  to 
see  that  the  smelters,  who  might  not  be  shareholders  in  the  busi- 
ness, were  well  trained;  to  be  present  at  the  end  of  every  shift;  to 

93  Schmoller,  op.  cil.,  989. 
"Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  995. 

96  Henry's  code  for  Gittelde  (Art.  80)  says  that  the  overseer  must  live 
at  or  near  the  mine.  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  1042. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK- WOLFENBUTTEL      47 

be  responsible  for  the  quality  of  work  done  and  to  be  present  when 
the  ore  was  being  smelted.  He  had  to  test  and  weigh  the  resulting 
metal  and  to  report  its  amount  to  the  collector  of  the  tithes. 
This  collector  was  responsible  for  seeing  that  the  lord  received  his 
tenth.  Inspectors  of  the  furnaces  had  to  visit  each  plant  every 
day  to  see  that  the  regulations  were  observed  and  that  the  work 
was  well  done,  and  two  assayers  who  were  under  the  direction  of 
the  superintendent  and  master  were  responsible  for  the  quality 
of  the  metal. 

Further,  the  code  established  three  daily  shifts  of  eight  hours 
each,  and  uniformity  of  wages  in  the  different  mines;  made  regula- 
tions for  compelling  honesty  on  the  part  of  the  laborers ;  arranged 
for  the  upkeep  of  passages  and  galleries;  planned  for  the  selling  of 
shares,  and  finally,  stated  that  the  master  was  to  pass  on  any  cases 
not  specifically  provided  for.  Then  followed  a  list  of  the  oaths 
which  each  official  swore  to  his  sovereign. 

This,  then  was  the  code  issued  by  Henry  for  Gittelde  in  1524. 
He  added  articles  which  established  the  wages  paid  to  ordinary 
miners  and  made  certain  other  provisions.  If  any  laborer  was 
hurt  in  the  course  of  his  work  in  a  paying  mine,  he  should  receive 
wages  during  eight  weeks  of  sickness,  and  have  his  doctor's  bills 
paid.  But  if  the  accident  happened  in  a  new  digging  which  was 
being  worked  by  subsidy,  he  should  be  provided  for  during  only 
four  weeks  of  illness.  Any  contingency  not  provided  for  in  the 
code  was  to  be  settled  according  to  custom.88 

In  the  same  year  in  which  he  issued  the  first  body  of  mining 
laws  for  the  Upper  Harz,  Henry  gave  these-  mining  cities  a  special 
set  of  privileges  (Bergfreiheit),  a  charter  to  attract  capital.  A 
seventeenth  century  definition  says  that  this  "freedom  extends 
partly  to  the  persons  and  goods  of  those  working  in  the  mines, 
and  partly  to  the  mountains  and  districts  where  the  diggings  are 
located."97  The  inducement  was  effective,  for  among  the  investors 
were  several  members  of  the  nobility  as  well  as  rich  merchants  of 
Brunswick,  Magdeburg,  Bremen,  Hamburg,  Liibeck  and  Verden. 
That  is,  these  mines  were  operated  by  mining  companies  whose 
members  thought  this  a  good  investment  for  capital,  but  under 
rules  laid  down  by  the  prince.98  Hake,  though  he  does  not  men- 

*  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  1042. 

97  Eisenhart,  op.  cit.t  8. 

98  Giinther,  Der  Harz,  201. 


48  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

tion  this  charter,  says  that  so  many  non-resident  shareholders 
began  to  carry  on  work  in  the  district  that  new  diggings  had  to  be 
opened  in  1526."  In  the  preamble  Henry  joined  with  his  own 
name  that  of  his  brother  William  who  at  the  time  was  carefully 
secured  in  prison.100  The  charter  provided  for  "free  roads  and 
paths"  to  and  from  the  mines,  and  for  the  free  use  of  water  for  the 
smel ting-houses,  "according  to  the  ancient  custom  of  mines." 
To  attract  strangers,  the  duke  allowed  miners  with  their  goods  to 
enter  and  leave  his  territory  at  will.  Perhaps  the  most  striking 
features  of  these  privileges  are  those  which  provided  daily  bread 
for  this  non- agricultural  class.  A  "free  and  open"  market  was  to 
be  held  every  Saturday  and  no  tax  was  to  be  paid  by  those  who 
had  for  sale  bread,  wine,  beer,  meat,  cheese,  butter,  eggs,  salt, 
cloth  and  other  articles  needed  by  the  miners.  The  miners  them- 
selves were  allowed  to  bake,  brew,  slaughter  and  to  sell  wine  and 
beer.  Settlers  might  carry  on  business  free  of  taxes.  Miners 
were  exempt  from  all  tolls,  taxes,  imposts  and  excises  "except 
what  our  need  and  the  land  demands,  and  they  do  from  their  good 
will."  The  miners  might  have  free  from  all  tribute  the  wood  they 
needed  for  use  in  the  mines,  smel  ting-houses  and  dwellings. 
For  three  years  the  miners  were  excused  from  paying  the  lord  his 
tenth  of  the  ore  and  for  the  same  period  the  shareholders  were  free 
to  dispose  as  they  pleased  of  all  their  silver,  copper  and  lead. 
After  this  period,  the  tenth  must  be  paid  and  all  of  the  metal 
delivered  into  the  treasury  of  Henry  who  bought  and  paid  for  it 
according  to  the  custom  of  St.  Annaberg  and  St.  Joachimsthal. 
In  other  words,  after  these  new  workers  were  fairly  established, 
the  lord  claimed  the  right  of  preemption.  Such  a  group  of  articles 
made  of  these  capitalists  and  skilled  workmen  a  privileged  class, 
especially  during  their  first  three  years  in  the  Harz.  These 
economic  exemptions  may  be  strikingly  contrasted  with  the  con- 
ditions which  in  the  year  following  led  to  the  Peasants'  Revolt.101 

99  Hake,  Bergchronik,  37. 

100  This  charter  is  printed  by  Gunther,  from  a  transcript  in  the  Achenbach 
library  in  Klausthal.    H.  Z.  1906,  292. 

101  The  revival  of  the  mining  industry  in  the  Harz  in  the  J6th  century  was 
general.    For  an  account  of  the  mining  activities  of  other  princes  in  the  Harz 
see  Die  alteste  Geschichte  der  Bergstadt  S.  Andreasberg,  etc.,  by  Gunther 
H.  Z.,  1909, 191.    In  1521  the  counts  of  Honstein  issued  a  charter  of  privileges 
to  attract  miners  to  their  lands.    This  was  modelled  on  the  charter  of  Anna- 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  49 

The  duke,  as  owner  of  these  mines,  intended  also  to  build  the  gal- 
leries which  should  drain  them  thus  performing  substantial 
services  in  return  for  his  tenth  and  the  right  of  preemption.102 

For  some  reason  unknown  to  Hake,  there  was  a  slump  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  mines  in  1527.  Those  in  Grund  were  idle  and 
the  claims  which  had  been  established  throughout  the  Harz  were 
given  up.103  The  pious  chronicler  observes  that  "what  mounts 
quickly  soon  falls  down."  More  sensibly  he  adds  that  the  pros- 
perity of  the  Rammelsberg,  where  one  of  the  new  mines  was 
leased  to  no  less  a  person  than  Princess  Catherine,  duchess  of 
Saxony,  may  have  lured  workers  away.  In  1528  prosperity 
returned  once  more  and  much  capital  was  invested  in  the  Harz 
by  burghers  of  the  city  of  Brunswick.  In  Grund  the  Magdeburg 
galleries  (Stollen)  were  made  in  order  to  drain  the  mine.104  Prob- 
ably these  were  built  by  skilled  workmen  from  Magdeburg,  for  in 
1532  Hake  says  that  capitalists  from  that  city  began  again  to 
invest  in  mines.  By  1529  Wildemann  had  attracted  so  many 
settlers  that,  at  the  request  of  Wolff  Seitels,  probably  an  official, 
the  reports  and  accounts  of  the  output  of  the  local  mine  were 
transferred  thither.  These  had  previously  been  made  in  Grund, 
three  miles  away  "because  no  one  lived  in  Wildemann." 

In  1532,  Duke  Henry,  on  the  request  of  some  of  the  investors 
issued  another  set  of  privileges,  which  seem  to  have  been  the 
first  of  which  Hake  had  any  cognizance.105  Again  the  duke's  name 
was  linked  with  that  of  his  still  imprisoned  brother  William  in  the 
benefits  which  he  offered  to  Grund.  These  were  also  extended  to 
Zellerfeld  which  he  controlled  with  his  cousin  Philip  of  Gruben- 
hagen.  In  the  main  these  privileges  were  like  those  of  1524. 
Safe  conduct  was  assured  to  all  who  emigrated  to  this  district. 
Miners  might  trade  freely  and  as  freely  leave  on  condition  that 
the  debts  contracted  in  the  mine  cities  were  properly  and  decently 
paid.  Both  Grund  and  Zellerfeld  were  allowed  the  free  weekly 

berg  in  the  Erzgebirge  and  was  the  first  one  given  in  the  Upper  Harz.  This 
charter  of  1521  is  published  by  Calvor,  Historische  Nachricht,  215.  The 
Gmbenhagen  mines  are  discussed  by  Calvor,  143  ff. 

102  Giinther,  Der  Harz,  201. 

103  Hake,  Bergchronik,  37,  22. 
1MIbid.,  38,  3. 

106  Ibid.,  38,  39;  Gunther,  H.Z.,  1906,  294;  These  privileges  are  also 
published  by  Calvor,  Historische  Nachricht,  217. 


50  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

market  with  all  the  privileges  of  1524.  After  granting  both  miners 
and  shareholders  three  years'  freedom  from  taxation  the  duke 
went  on  to  fix  the  price  to  be  paid  from  his  treasury  for  the  metal 
sold  to  him,  "as  is  the  custom  of  mine  law  and  usage  in  other 
principalities  and  countries."  No  mention  was  made  of  the  free 
sale  of  metals  for  three  years,  previously  allowed  to  shareholders. 

So  successful  were  the  inducements  of  1532  that  the  next  year 
the  chronicler  announces  so  many  foreign  shareholders  that 
seventeen  new  mines  were  opened.10*  It  is  quite  probable 
that  these  seventeen  included  only  those  on  the  Iberge. 
Hake  wonders  over  and  laments  the  fact  that  though  these  mines 
produced  silver  the  fact  is  not  mentioned  in  the  records  (Recess- 
buck)  until  1538.  He  deems  the  matter  so  " chronicle  worthy" 
that  he  thinks  there  must  have  been  another  journal  begun  in  the 
time  of  Elisabeth  which  was  lost  during  the  years  when  Henry's 
enemies  overran  the  land,  and  the  duke  himself  was  in  captivity. 
In  1534  the  investors  were  encouraged  by  the  fact  that  the  bishop 
of  Cologne  leased  a  district  next  to  Wildemann  and  there  began 
operations.  In  the  next  year  the  first  machine  for  pumping  out 
water  was  introduced  into  the  Wildemann  mine. 

Henry  was  determined  that  his  mines  should  succeed.  The 
output  of  the  iron  mines  established  by  Elisabeth  in  Grund 
had  fallen  off,  after  long  "giving  many  people  daily  bread, 
and  for  a  while  growing  better."  It  was  to  remedy  this  condition, 
that  the  duke  in  1535  issued  a  code  of  laws  for  the  iron  mines  of 
Grund.107  According  to  old  custom  workmen,  owners  of  the 
furnaces,  and  steelsmiths  were  to  choose  an  overseer,  who 
should  have  two  assistants.  He  was  to  regulate  affairs  according 
to  these  articles  and  to  give  permission  for  new  undertakings. 
Three  times  a  week  he  had  to  measure  the  ore  which  might  then 
be  sold  at  an  established  price  to  the  owners  of  the  smelting- 
houses  or  to  the  steelsmiths.  He  also  had  to  inspect  each  pit 
(Grube)  every  week.  Any  part  of  the  mine  which  lay  idle  for 
thirteen  days  was  considered  free  and  might  be  leased  to 
anyone  who  desired  it.  In  unusual  cases  the  overseer  might 
prolong  this  period.  The  new  code  also  fixed  the  amount  of 
wages  paid  to  laborers  in  the  mines  and  to  those  who  worked  in 

106  Hake,  Bergchronik,  41,  26. 

107  Printed  from  a  transcript  in  the  archives  at  Wolfenbuttel,  H.  Z.,  1906, 
48. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL      51 

the  smelteries  and  for  the  steelsmiths.  The  lord,  as  usual,  claimed 
one  tenth  of  the  output,  and  the  right  of  preemption.  These 
regulations  seem  to  aim  not  so  much  to  lighten  the  labors  of  the 
workmen  as  to  insure  justice  from  employers;  on  the  whole  they 
favor  the  employed  class.  Great  care  was  taken  to  keep  up  the 
standard  of  the  output.  Anxious  as  the  lord  was  concerning  the 
prosperity  of  the  mines,  he  had  no  notion  of  attracting  labor  and 
capital  by  giving  up  any  of  his  prerogatives  or  by  reducing  his 
share  of  gain,  for  undoubtedly  the  chief  part  of  Henry's  revenue 
was  drawn  from  mines.  Though  this  code  is  comparatively  short 
and  simple,  it  is  easy  to  trace  in  it  the  influence  of  the  Saxon  Code  of 
1509. 

Henry's  later  codes  were  issued  in  1550  and  1555.  That  of 
January  1,  1550,  applied  to  the  mines  in  Grund,  Wildemann, 
Zellerfeld,  Lautenthal  and  other  silver,  lead  and  copper  mines 
connected  with  them,  and  was  printed  in  Wolfenbiittel  in  1552. 108 
The  officials  of  the  mine  had  in  practice  found  it  necessary  to 
revise  the  Saxon  ordinance  to  suit  local  conditions,  and  in  so  doing 
had  drifted  too  far  from  the  original  requirements.109  The  wording 
of  the  preamble  indicates  that  slight  improvements  rather  than 
radical  changes  from  old  customs  were  made  in  the  code  of  1550.110 
As  usual,  the  prince  reserved  the  right  to  change  the  law  as  he  saw 
fit  and  threatened  with  dire  punishment  any  who  failed  to  observe 
its  regulations.  Wagner  does  not  print  the  bulk  of  this  code 
which  is  to  be  found  only  in  obscure  publications  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  but  says  that  it  is  like  that  for  Brunswick, 
issued  September  18,  1593  by  Dukes  Wolfgang  and  Philip  of  the 
Grubenhagen  line.111  The  latter  became  the  best  known  of  any  of 
the  Harz  laws  and  this  fact  probably  explains  its  omission  by  Wag- 
ner. Now,  if  an  ordinance  of  1550  is  like  one  of  1593,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  earlier  one  served  as  model.  The  preamble  and  the 
articles  printed  by  Wagner  indicate  an  intimate  relationship 
between  the  code  of  1550  and  that  already  in  use  in  the  Upper 
Harz  which  was  the  Saxon  Code  of  1509.  Moreover  we  have  the 

108  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  1055.     The  mining  industry  was  revived  later  in 
Lautenthal  than  in  the  other  Upper  Harz  towns.    The  fragmentary  records 
suggest  that  the  mines  of  this  village  were  worked  only  intermittently. 

109  Hake,  Bergchronik,  57,  26. 

110  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  1055. 
m  Ibid.,  XXXIII. 


52  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

judgment  of  Ermisch  and  Schmoller,  that  this  served  as  a  model 
in  north  Germany  throughout  the  sixteenth  century.112  We  may 
then  assume  that  the  code  of  1550  consisted  of  the  old  rules  with 
slight  variations. 

On  April  2,  1554  Ernest,  duke  of  Brunswick  and  Liineburg, 
of  the  Grubenhagen  line,  issued  an  ordinance  for  the  mines  of 
Zellerfeld,  Borgstalle  and  Clausthal.  Again,  Wagner  says  that 
this  is  like  the  Brunswick  code  of  1593,  except  in  the  few  articles 
where  it  follows  Henry's  ordinance  of  1550.113 

On  March  21,  1555  Henry  the  Younger  of  Brunswick  and 
Liineburg  issued  the  last  mine  ordinance  known  to  Wagner.114 
It  was  for  the  mines  of  the  Rammelsberg,  Hirschberg,  Grund, 
Wildemann,  Zellerfeld  and  Lautenthal  and  was  based  on  the 
laws  established  October  3,  1554  for  electoral  Saxony  which  are 
printed  only  in  rare  books  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries.116  Here  the  duke  was  still  advertising  his  mines  in  the 
hope  of  attracting  more  labor  and  capital.  One  of  his  objects  in 
printing  the  laws  was  that  everyone  might  know  "how  all  affairs 
are  conducted  in  our  mines,"  and  that  "each  miner  and  share- 
holder, native  or  foreign,  might  know  how  to  judge."  Unfortu- 
ately  the  fragment  printed  by  Wagner  is  too  slight  to  give  a  real 
idea  of  what  the  regulations  were,  but  again  we  assume,  that  the 
later  Saxon  code  followed  that  of  1509,  whose  antecedents  go  back 
into  the  thirteenth  century. 

By  1534  Wildemann  had  grown  large  enough  to  need  its  own 
judge  though  it  was  still  dependent  on  Grund  for  its  pastor.118 

112  Ermisch,  op.  cit.,  CLXIV;  Schmoller,  op.  cit.,  965.    Eisenhart,  op. 
cit.,  occasionally  quotes  the  Ordinal,  Metallica  Sereniss,  Duds  Brunsvicensis. 
As  he  wrote  in  1681  he  was  presumably  using  the  code  of  1593.    In  several 
cases  these  quotations  are  identical  with  provisions  of  the  Saxon  code  of  1509. 

113  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  1061.    Comparatively  little  is  known  of  the  Gruben- 
hagen mines  during  the  16th  century.     Calvor,  Historische  Nachricht,  144. 
On  page  219,  Calvor  publishes  a  set  of  privileges  issued  by  Ernest  of  Gruben- 
hagen in  1554.     These  are  modelled  on  the  privileges  of  1553  issued  by 
Henry  of  Brunswick.    In  1596  the  Grubenhagen  lands  and  mines  came  into 
the  possession  of  the  Wolfenbiittel  line.    See  also  H.  Z.,  1884,  17. 

114  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  1065. 

115  Naturally  Henry  found  the  Saxon  laws  issued  by  the  duke  more  suit- 
able for  use  in  his  mines  than  the  native  law  of  the  Rammelsberg  which  had 
developed  under  the  ownership  of  free  burghers.    See  Neuburg,  op.  cit.,  323. 

116  Hake,  Bergchronik,  42,  14. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  53 

Its  mines  must  have  been  very  promising,  since  in  the  next  year 
Duke  Henry  enlarged  the  area  which  was  being  worked.  In  the 
same  year  the  first  machine  for  ridding  the  mine  of  water  was 
installed.117  This  was  finished  in  1536,  and  the  duke  happening 
to  be  at  the  neighboring  castle  of  Stauffenburg  sent  a  message 
to  the  mine,  saying  that  he  wished  to  be  present  when  the 
wheel  was  first  started.  The  next  day  he  came  over,  and  viewed 
the  operation.  In  an  hour  the  water  was  lowered  three- 
quarters  of  a  fathom.118  The  duke's  pleasure  was  short-lived, 
for  after  twenty  four  hours  the  machine  could  not  be  made  to 
operate.  A  second  experiment  proved  successful.  It  seems 
probable  that  this  was  in  an  old  mine,  long  unused,  for  in  this 
connection  Hake  says  that  the  early  miners  had  dug  only 
eleven  fathoms.119  At  this  time  the  duke  put  the  first  superintend- 
ent over  the  mines.  The  next  day  of  accounting  showed  that 
some  silver  had  been  found  in  the  Wildemann  and  other  places, 
and  the  entry  of  1537  says  that  "the  mine  improved  from  quarter 
to  quarter,  and  new  passages  were  established." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  same  pastor  served  both  Wilde- 
mann and  Grund.  At  Wildemann  in  fine  weather  he  preached 
from  a  window  of  the  village  inn  to  the  people  assembled  in  the 
market  place;  when  it  stormed  the  people  came  into  the  common 
room  of  the  hostelry.  This  did  not  prove  satisfactory  because 
the  youths  gathered  behind  the  tall  tiled  stove  were  frivolous 
and  even  drank  brandy  during  the  sermon.  Afterwards  the  men 
remained  to  drink  and  gamble.  To  prevent  this,  in  1542  a  church 

117  Wasserkunst,  Heintzenkunst.    The  machines  used  in  the  16th  century 
for  raising  ore  and  water  from  mines  are  described  and  illustrated  in  book 
VI  of  Agricola's  De  Re  Metallica  edited  by  Hoover.    The  same  machine  was 
sometimes  used  to  lift  both  ore  and  water.    The  simplest  form  was  that  in 
which  buckets  were  raised  by  means  of  a  windlass,  turned  by  men.    There 
seem  to  have  been  two  chief  types  of  machines  used  for  raising  water  only. 
One  consisted  of  an  endless  chain  from  which  buckets  were  suspended,  con- 
nected with  a  wheel  which  was  turned  by  water  or  man  power;  the  other  was 
some  form  of  suction-pump  often  operated  by  a  water-wheel.    At  Wildemann 
the  wheel  was  turned  by  water.    Hake,  Bergchronik,  42,  27  S.    This  problem 
of  removing  superfluous  water  from  mines  was  successfully  solved  only  with 
the  invention  of  the  steam  engine  in  the  18th  century.    Hoover's  Agricola, 
149,  note  1.    See  also  Calvor,  Maschinenwesens,  35. 

118  A  fathom (lachter)  is  67.5  inches. 

119  The  early  miners  (Alte  Mann)  were  those  who  worked  here  before  the 
Black  Death  and  were  the  first  to  mine  in  the  Upper  Harz.  See  H.  Z.,  1906, 13. 


54  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

edifice  was  built.  It  was  consecrated  in  the  next  year  but  the 
same  pastor  continued  to  minister  to  both  Wildemann  and  Zeller- 
feld  until  1548.120  When  the  towns  had  grown  so  large  that  one 
pastor  could  not  serve  both,  the  people  of  Wildemann  humbly 
begged  the  duke  for  an  evangelical  preacher.121  In  reply  they 
received  the  blunt  but  welcome  response  that  they  might  have 
whom  they  pleased.  In  1545  Wildemann  chose  its  first  judge. 

Zellerfeld  was  the  oldest  of  the  reopened  mining  districts.122 
It  was  not  one  of  the  extremely  old  mines,  for  with  Wildemann  it  is 
first  mentioned  in  the  division  of  1495,  which  gave  the  common 
ownership  of  the  mines  to  Duke  Henry  the  Elder  and  Erich.123 
Zellerfeld  grew  like  the  proverbial  mining  town.  In  1538  the 
judge,  who  since  1535  had  been  a  necessary  official,  began  the 
first  book  of  city  records  and  the  first  church  was  built  on  the 
foundations  of  the  old  monastery  of  Celle.124  The  next  year 
water  was  piped  to  the  market  place  "as  it  still  goes," 
and  through  the  neighboring  streets.  It  was  almost  ten  years 
later  that  Hake  reported  that  water  was  piped  to  the  brewery 
and  bath-houses  in  Wildemann.  In  1540  extensive  building 
operations  were  undertaken  by  the  shareholders  at  Zellerfeld. 
They  and  the  prince  completed  twenty  one  mines  which 
produced  some  silver  though  the  records  do  not  mention 
that  metal  for  ten  years.126  No  new  concessions  were  granted, 
and  the  reason  is  to  be  found  in  general  conditions.  In  1542 
the  Schmalkald  League  declared  war  on  Henry  and  "those 
here  in  the  mine  cities  sat  in  twofold  danger  and  fear"  of  an  attack 
by  the  league,  and  "on  account  of  our  neighbors,  those  of  Goslar" 
who  regarded  the  new  mines  as  future  rivals.126  Goslar  had 
adopted  Luther's  religion  in  1528,  and  even  earlier  the  Peasants' 
Revolt  had  made  itself  felt  in  the  Harz.  This  brought  the  miners 
as  well  as  other  classes  face  to  face  with  the  religious  problem,  but 

120  Hake,  Bergchronik,  50,  6  ff .    Johann  Gnapheus  served  Zellerfeld  as 
pastor  from  1543  until  1575.    He  received  one  gulden  weekly  for  rent  and 
pasturage  for  three  cows.    Koldewey,  Z.  N.  S.,  1868,  282. 

121  Hake,  Bergchronik,  56,  25. 

122  Giinther,  Der  Harz,  71. 

123  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  XXIX. 
IM  Hake,  Bergchronik,  44,  28. 
126  Ibid.,  46,  22 

12«  Ibid.,  48,  6. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  55 

matters  did  not  reach  a  crisis  before  1541.  Zellerfeld  had  chosen  a 
Protestant  pastor  in  1539.127  This  must  have  been  allowed  by  the 
prince,  even  though  we  may  question  the  account  of  his  "  Christ-like 
mildness"  given  by  Hake  who  was  himself  a  Protestant.  The 
chronicler  through  genuine  belief  or  through  policy  lays  the  dis- 
missal of  this  pastor  at  the  door  of  Henry's  confessor  Bernhardino. 
The  duke  had  offered  himself  to  pay  a  Catholic  priest  to  care  for  the 
spiritual  affairs  of  the  mining  towns  when  a  petition  from  the  dis- 
tressed miners  showed  the  ruler  that  he  had  roused  lively  opposi- 
tion, and  he  deemed  it  the  part  of  discretion  to  retreat.  Instead  of 
forcing  the  matter  he  told  them  as  he  later  told  their  neighbors  at 
Wildemann,  (1541)  that  if  "one  Lutheran  preacher  weren't 
enough  they  might  have  two."  At  this  time  difficulties  were 
closing  in  on  Henry  and  it  is  probable  that  he  would  have  made 
much  greater  concessions  to  preserve  his  valuable  income  from 
the  mines.  He  had  troubles  enough  without  creating  a  new  class 
of  enemies.  On  his  return  from  captivity  in  1547  the  religious 
observances  of  the  mine  cities  remained  undisturbed.  They  con- 
tinued to  choose  their  own  officials  as  they  had  done  when  the 
league  held  authority  over  them.  They  used  the  forms  of  the 
church  of  Brunswick  " though  some  were  against  it  and  annoyed 
thereat."128  In  1545  Zellerfeld  had  been  prosperous  enough  to 
employ  an  organist  and  two  years  later  the  citizens  purchased  a 
private  house  to  be  used  as  a  town  hall.  Zellerfeld  shortly  became 
the  most  important  as  well  as  the  largest  of  Henry's  Harz  mining 
towns.129 

Passing  mention  has  been  made  of  the  fact  that  in  1542 
the  League  of  Schmalkald  declared  war  on  Henry;  he  being  unpre- 
pared to  meet  so  large  a  force,  fled  from  his  dominion  and  took 
refuge  with  his  Catholic  allies  the  dukes  of  Bavaria.  In  this  year 
while  the  Protestant  army  was  in  Gandersheim  representatives  of 
the  mines  were  ordered  to  that  city  to  swear  allegiance  to  the 
Protestant  leaders.130  There  they  reported  their  danger  of  attack 
from  Goslar  and  told  how  for  three  weeks  they  had  been  forced  to 

127  Koldewey,  Die   Reformation  des  Herzogthums  Braunschweig-W  olfen- 
butiel,  255;  Hake,  Bergchronik,  46  ff. 
™Ibid.}  55,  14. 
»•  Giinther,  Der  Harz,  72. 
180  Hake,  Bergchronik,  48,  23;  Giinther,  H.Z.,  1906,  39. 


56  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

keep  their  cattle  in  deep,  remote  woods  for  safety.  Instead  of 
troops,  the  league  gave  the  miners  the  coat  of  arms  of  Hesse  and 
of  electoral  Saxony  which  Goslar,  also  a  member  of  the  league 
was  bound  to  respect.  In  this  very  year,  however,  the  forces  of 
Goslar,  300  strong,  fell  on  Zellerfeld,  destroyed  walls,  doors 
and  windows  and  left  only  three  tile-stoves  standing  in 
the  town.  The  intruders  insulted  the  wives  and  children 
of  the  miners  and  carried  off  sixteen  prisoners.  The  method 
of  governing  the  absent  duke's  territories  presented  a  prob- 
lem demanding  solution.  After  many  suggestions  had  been 
considered  it  was  decided  to  maintain  an  administrative 
commission,  which  should  reside  at  Wolfenbuttel.131  So  the 
"council  of  Saxony  and  Hesse  ruled  the  mines  as  though  they 
belonged  to  them  and  made  many  changes  in  their  regulations" 
putting  in  their  own  officials.132  These  years  of  Henry's  absence 
were  a  time  of  prosperity  for  much  silver  was  found  in  Wildemann 
and  Grund.  No  records  were  kept  and  Hake,  writing  in  the  next 
generation  says:  "This  has  all  come  down  as  tradition."  During 
his  absence  Henry  wrote  to  the  tithe  collector  at  Zellerfeld, 
telling  him  to  carry  on  the  mines  as  well  as  possible  and  to  have 
good  wine  on  hand  for,  "we  intend  soon  to  come  back  for  a 
report,  and  will  bring  some  Spanish,  Italian  and  other  good 
German  miners  to  see  what  the  new  lords  have  accomplished  and 
built."133  In  1543  at  Grund  the  output  of  silver  increased  until 
it  was  so  much  more  prosperous  than  Wildemann  and  Zellerfeld 
that  without  help  it  maintained  its  contribution  to  the  fund  for 
sick  miners.134  The  other  towns  continued  to  hold  their  fund  in 
common. 

131  Koldewey,  Heinz  von  Wolfenbuttel,  55. 

132  Hake,  Bergchronik,  49,  22. 

133  Quoted  by  Heinemann,  op.  eit.,  II,  394. 

134  Hake,  Bergchronik,  50,  41  ff.    In  Grund,  where  the  first  silver  was 
recorded  in  1539,  more  of  this  metal  was  found  in  1543  than  in  Wildemann 
or  Zellerfeld.    The  records  of  1549  show  that  new  galleries  were  built  in 
Grund  during  that  year,  but  in  the  next  registration  of  new  mines  which  has 
been  preserved,  that  of  1564,  no  new  building  is  recorded  in  Grund.    Calvor, 
Hist.  Nachricht,  136,  thinks  that  the  silver  mines  at  this  place  were  deserted 
about  the  middle  of  the  century.    Hake,  Bergchronik,  147,  18,  speaks  of  the 
attempt  made  by  Duke  Julius  to  revive  the  silver  industry  here.    How  suc- 
cessful this  attempt  was  is  not  known. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  57 

In  October  of  1545  at  Calefeld  Henry  gave  himself  up  and  was 
made  prisoner.135  His  feud  with  Goslar  was  not  yet  settled  so 
that  city  which  still  controlled  the  Rammelsberg  mine  found  it 
convenient  to  attack  the  prince  through  his  mines  of  the  Upper 
Harz.  A  company  of  two  hundred  men  from  Goslar  plundered 
Wildemann  and  the  surrounding  country,  carried  off  what  was 
portable  and  took  some  prisoners.  The  men  of  Zellerfeld,  expect- 
ing an  attack,  stood  in  military  order  fully  armed  in  the  streets  of 
their  own  town,  but  the  marauding  company  passed  them  by  and 
returned  directly  to  Goslar,  scared  by  the  report  that  Grund  and 
Gittelde  were  coming  to  the  rescue. 

The  people  of  the  mine  cities  were  much  distressed  at  the 
changes  in  administration  made  by  the  governing  council  of  the 
Schmalkald  League.136  Naturally  the  natives  preferred  the  old 
men  who  knew  their  ways.  Nevertheless,  in  successive  years 
Hake  records  more  and  more  new  officials.  In  1546  the  master  of 
the  mine  was  from  Schneeberg  in  Saxony,  but  in  1547  when  Henry 
once  more  returned  to  his  lands  and  restored  order  in  the  mines, 
he  replaced  the  old  officials.  We  may  well  believe  that  these 
miners  honestly  rejoiced  at  their  lord's  release,  and  that: 
"They  thanked  God  and  cherished  a  hope  that  now  a  proper 
rule  would  be  established,  and  that  each  one  would  be  protected 
from  every  danger  and  attack."  The  duke's  renewed  interest 
in  the  mines  is  illustrated  by  his  undertakings  in  1548.  Galleries 
were  necessary  for  some  of  the  old  mines,  yet  large  capital  was 
required  for  such  construction.  The  duke  therefore,  took  charge 
of  the  excavation,  began  the  Frankenscherner  galleries  and  in 
fourteen  years  extended  them  1300  fathoms.  He  spared  no 
expense  and  the  work  cost  him  several  thousand  Reichsthaler . 
He  reaped  his  reward,  for  when  the  new  galleries  came 
into  use,  "much  silver  was  produced,  and  his  Grace's  outlay 
was  richly  returned  and  the  shareholders  got  good  profit  and 
exchange."137  Since  in  some  parts  of  the  «mine  it  seemed  undesir- 
able to  build  additional  galleries  the  miners  solved  their  great 
problem  of  draining  the  mines  by  the  installation  of  machines 

35  Brandenburg,  Der  Gefangennahme  Heinrich  von  Braunschweig,  67  ff. 

136  Hake,  Bergchronik,  54,  9,  23. 

187  Ibid.,  55,  28  ff.  From  1548  until  1554  the  profits  from  the  mines  of 
Wildemann  and  Zellerfeld  more  than  equalled  the  expense  of  operation. 
Calvor,  Historische  Nachricht,  115. 


58  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

consisting  of  suction  pumps  or  buckets  fastened  on  an  endless 
chain.    In  1554  a  machine  was  set  up  at  Wildemann  and  another 
at  Grund.    The  work  was  not  entirely  successful  and  later  had  to 
be  repaired.    These  machines  were  still  in  use  when  Hake  wrote. 
But  some  of  the  deep  old  passages  worked  by  the  early  miners 
were   in   such   bad   condition   that    there  seemed  danger  that 
work  in  them  might  come  to  a  standstill.    Hearing  that  the 
manager,    Peter   Adener,     was    an    intelligent    miner,    Henry 
summoned  him  to  Gandersheim,  and  there  the  two  took  counsel 
together,    as   to   how   the   duke's   mines   could   best  be  made 
permanently  prosperous.     His  Grace  asked  the  miner's  advice, 
and  Peter  replied  with  humility  but  as  one  convinced:    "Your 
Princely  Grace  must  consider  galleries  and  have    them    built 
where  they  will  be  deepest,  cost  what  it  will."    The  suggestion 
met  with  Henry's  favor  and  he  asked  for  an  estimate  that  he 
might  at  once  give  the  order  to  begin  work.    Here  we  catch  a 
glimpse  of  mining  etiquette.    Peter  was  an  employe  of  the  share- 
holders, one  who  had  charge  of  actual  work,  and  so  was  under  the 
supervision  of  the  duke's  representatives.    He  told  the  duke  that  it 
would  not  be  suitable  for  him  to  act  "behind  the  back  of  and 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  master  of  the  mine  for  it  would 
bring  him  into  disgrace  with  the  officials  and  with  other  honest 
mine  people."138    As  a  result  of  Adener 's  advice  work  was  begun 
at  once,  but  the  orders  were  given  through  the  usual  channels. 
In  1555  the  deepest  gallery  in  the  Himmlische  Herr  mine,  with 
several  others,  was  built  at  great  expense.   That  the  investment 
was  profitable  is  attested  by  the  returns  to  prince  and  shareholders 
shown  by  the  books  of  the  mine. 

Probably  the  second  group  of  mine  privileges  and  codes  issued 
by  Henry  belonged  to  this  general  policy  of  restoring  order  and 
rehabilitating  the  mines  after  he  had  won  back  his  lands.  His 
great  victory  over  Albert  of  Brandenburg  at  Sievershausen  was 
won  in  1553.  It  was  perhaps  Henry's  greatest  triumph,  though 
it  cost  the  lives  of  his  two  oldest  sons.  In  this  year  the  duke 
issued  a  group  of  inducements  to  atttact  foreign  labor  and  capital 
to  the  mines.  Hake  mentions  in  detail  only  the  privileges  of 
1532  and  of  1556.  Besides  that  of  1524,  Gimther  has  discovered  a 
charter  issued  in  1553  and  one  in  1554,  but  has  published  only 

188  Hake,  Bergchronik,  60,  61. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBtfXTEL  59 

the  former.189  The  articles  of  1553  were  issued  for  Zellerfeld, 
Wildemann  and  Grund.  The  first  of  these  towns  had  by  this 
time  grown  considerably  and  each  boasted  its  own  judge  and 
council.  The  privileges  might  be  enjoyed  by  any  person  who  would 
help  develop  the  mines  of  the  vicinity.  Though  the  miners  were 
not  allowed  to  sell  wood  they  were  free,  under  the  direction  of  the 
forester  to  use  untaxed  all  they  needed  for  building  shafts,  smel- 
teries, mills  and  stamping  works  and  to  burn  what  they  required, 
as  charcoal  in  the  mines  or  as  fuel  for  their  personal  comfort.  The 
care  of  the  forests  indicated  by  these  terms  shows  a  dawning  sense 
of  the  danger  of  deforestation  which  was  a  vital  problem  to  the 
next  generation.  As  in  the  older  concessions  the  output  of  the 
mines  was  freed  from  taxation  for  three  years  which  time  might  be 
extended  at  the  request  of  the  shareholders.  These  privileges, 
much  more  considerable  than  those  of  the  earlier  part  of  Henry's 
reign,  were  due  to  the  duke's  need  of  money  to  pay  for  the  disas- 
terous  and  expensive  wars  which  had  made  deep  inroads  on  his 
treasury.  Every  effort  was  made  to  provide  the  miners  with 
plentiful  food  at  reasonable  prices.  They  might  build  breweries 
and  wine-rooms  where  wine  and  beer  could  be  sold  free  of  excise. 
All  trades  and  business  were  untaxed.  Goods  were  to  be  free  of 
tolls  and  the  profits  from  their  sale  might  be  taken  out  of  Henry's 
territory  as  freely  as  the  commodities  had  been  brought  in.  Free 
markets  were  to  be  held  in  each  of  the  three  mine  cities  every 
Saturday.  Such  necessities  of  life  as  bread,  butter,  cheese,  beef, 
pigs,  calves,  tallow  and  iron  could  be  sold  there  free  of  taxes.  In 
addition,  a  free  yearly  market  was  to  be  held  at  a  specified  time 
in  each  of  the  three  cities.  Any  citizen  of  these  towns  who  culti- 
vated the  land  or  made  a  garden  was  freed  from  feudal  or  court 
service.  This  attempt  to  make  the  mine  cities  economically  self 
supporting  is  in  strong  contrast  to  agricultural  conditions  else- 
where. Miners  were  even  permitted  to  kill  game  birds  and  to 
catch  fish  in  certain  districts,  privileges  usually  belonging  exclu- 
sively to  the  nobility.  Those  who  had  worked  in  the  mines  of 
Brunswick  could  not  be  brought  to  justice  for  failure  to  pay  debts 
contracted  outside  of  the  duchy,  and  a  man  who  had  killed  another 
in  self-defense  was  promised  protection.  These  thriving  cities  of 

139  H.  Z.,  1906,  297.  Hake  alludes  to  the  privileges  of  1554,  62,  3.  They 
established  the  price  of  metals.  Hake  also  gives  many  additional  regulations 
governing  the  Harz  mines.  Bergchronik,  119  S. 


60  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

course  needed  courts  for  the  administration  of  justice.  Burgomas- 
ter, judges,  and  council,  presumably  chosen  by  the  people  had  to 
be  acceptable  to  the  duke.  The  local  authorities  decided  disputes 
arising  over  the  inheritance  of  mills,  baths,  saw  mills,  and  the  meat 
and  salt  supply,  while  the  duke  had  jurisdiction  in  criminal  cases. 
In  mining  matters  appeals  for  justice  were  made  to  the  court  of 
Joachims  thai,  while  cases  pertaining  to  other  matters  were  settled 
in  the  duke's  court.  These  three  favored  cities  were  also  exempt 
from  all  tribute,  taxes,  court  or  military  service.  Nevertheless, 
when  the  "common  land"  or  the  person  of  the  lord  was  endangered 
the  miners  were  expected  to  throw  themselves  into  the  breach. 
This  followed  the  custom  of  Joachimsthal  and  other  free  mine 
cities.  The  duke's  declaration  containing  these  inducements  was 
"issued  that  each  might  build,  and  remain  profitably  faithful"  to 
the  increasingly  prosperous  mining  towns. 

In  the  next  year  on  June  11,  1554,  Henry's  cousin  Ernst  of 
Grubenhagen  issued  to  supplement  his  mining  laws  a  set  of  privi- 
leges for  Clausthal,  which  were  almost  identical  with  those  of 
Henry.  Clausthal,  too,  was  a  new  town,  and  because  of  the 
difficulty  of  launching  the  business  the  rulers  gave  their  assistance, 
building  a  smelting  and  a  stamping  house  at  their  own  expense. 
The  fees  connected  with  the  use  of  this  property  were  according 
to  the  cstom  of  the  mines,  but  no  shareholder  might  have  the 
smelting  or  stamping  of  the  ore  done  outside  of  the  duke's  domin- 
ions. This  provision  was  probably  made  because  it  would  have 
been  so  easy  to  transport  the  ore  to  Zellerfeld,  which  lay  about 
two  miles  away  just  over  the  border  of  Henry's  dominions.140 

In  1556,  Henry  issued  for  Zellerfeld,  Wildemann  and  Grund, 
what  seems  to  have  been  his  last  set  of  privileges.141  This  docu- 
ment signed  by  the  duke's  own  hand  is  evidently  a  supplement 
to  the  mining  laws  of  March  21,  1555,  and  there  is  no  essential 
difference  between  it  and  the  charter  of  1553.  One  change  may  be 
noticed,  that  all  ore  mined  was  to  be  free,  for  a  period  of  three 
years,  not  only  from  payment  of  the  tenth  as  in  1553,  but  from 
the  ninth  as  well.  This  one  ninth  was  the  share  due  the  capitalist 
who  had  financed  the  building  of  the  necessary  galleries  of  the 
mine.142  The  ninth  was  taken  after  the  lord  had  his  tenth  and 

140  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  1061;  Gtinther,  H.Z.,  1906,  261,  n.  1. 

141  Ibid.,  300;  Hake,  Bergchronik  65,  14. 
143  Gtinther,  H.  Z.,  1906,  261. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK- WOLFENBUTTEL      61 

consequently  amounted  to  a  second  tenth.  Again  the  price  of 
metals  was  established.  These  privileges  allowed  an  appeal  in 
certain  cases  to  Freiberg  as  well  as  to  Saint  Joachimsthal,  but  it 
seems  improbable  that  judicial  questions  concerning  the  mines 
could  in  practice  have  been  carried  to  another  government  for 
settlement.  This  may  simply  be  another  way  of  saying  that 
Henry  observed  the  usual  standard  of  mine  justice. 

Henry  was  quite  frank  about  his  motive  in  thus  constituting 
the  miners  a  privileged  class.  These  concessions  were  made  at  the 
request  of  the  judge  and  council  of  the  three  towns  concerned: 
"In  necessary  heed  that  honest  people  shall  come,  and  continue 
to  come  and  build  with  evident  usefulness."  These  privileges 
were  printed  and  sent  to  various  cities  whose  merchants  and 
capitalists  it  was  hoped  to  attract  as  shareholders.  They  were  also 
posted  in  all  mines  to  attract  laborers.143 

Concerning  the  peaceful  activities  of  the  years  following 
Henry's  return  to  his  lands  (1547)  Rehtmeier  says:  "So  he 
renewed  and  built  other  houses  for  his  officials,  manors,  dykes 
and  sheepwalks  in  the  land,  but  especially  he  carried  on  the  mines 
energetically,  and  made  special  forest  regulations  for  them.  He 
had  moreover  an  excellent  police  system  in  his  dominion,  and 
safe,  good  roads."  Though  some  new  galleries  were  built,  and 
the  work  increased,  these  last  years  of  the  duke's  life  seem  to  have 
been  comparatively  uneventful  in  his  mining  towns. 

Communications  between  the  duke  and  his  officials  were,  in  the 
early  part  of  his  reign,  verbal  and  carried  on  either  at  the  mines  or 
at  court;  after  Henry's  release  written  communications  became 
customary.  An  interesting  series  of  these  letters  and  orders  has 
been  preserved.144  One  of  1556  contains  the  appointment  of 
Asmus  Helder  as  head  of  the  mines  at  Lutter.  He  was  to  receive 
200  thaler  a  year,  court  dress  for  four  people,  a  summer  as 
well  as  a  winter  outfit,  and  fodder  for  four  horses.  Because  he 
must  provide  for  his  wife  and  her  sister  and  their  attendants,  he 

143  Giinther,  H.  Z.,  265.  Eisenhart,  op.  cit.,96,  writingin  1681  says  that  there 
were  128  shares  in  the  mines  at  Zellerfeld  and  Wildemann.    In  dividing  the 
profits  132  shares  were  counted  two  going  to  the  church  and  two  to  the  city 
council.     This  charter  was  reissued  in  1636  by  Duke  August  the  Younger  to 
Zellerfeld,  Wildemann,  Grund  and  Lautenthal.    H.Z.,  1883,  199. 

144  Malortie,  Beitrage  zur  Gesch.  des  Braunschweig-Liineburg.    Hauses  und 
Hofes,  TV,  136,  153  ff. 


62  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

was  further  allowed  to  receive  from  his  district  fifteen  bushels  of 
rye,  an  equal  quantity  of  barley,  eight  pigs,  two  oxen,  a  cask  of 
butter  and  two  of  cheese.  In  one  case  Henry  addressed  the  over- 
seer of  the  mines  as  " well-born,  particularly  dear."  Dishonesty 
in  office  seems  to  have  been  all  too  common.  In  1563  an  attempt 
was  made  to  deceive  Henry  concerning  the  output  of  the  Goslar 
mine,  and  to  persuade  him  to  abandon  it,  but  his  faithful  tithe 
collector,  Christoph  Sander,  told  the  duke  the  truth  of  the  matter. 
The  next  year,  the  Rammelsberg  mines  and  foundries  having  been 
very  profitable,  the  attempt  was  repeated.145  A  citizen  of  Nurem- 
berg and  one  of  Wittenberg  needing  an  agent  in  Goslar,  attempted 
to  bribe  Sander.  Failing  in  this  they  had  almost  persuaded 
Henry  to  lease  the  Rammelsberg  to  them,  when  Sander  exposed 
the  scheme  by  showing  their  written  offer  to  him.  After  this 
episode  work  in  the  Rammelsberg  was  carried  on  more  energetical- 
ly than  ever,  and  Sander's  good  management  brought  success, 
"though  any  written  account  of  it  is  lacking."  Henry  was  so  well 
pleased  that  he  wrote  his  trusted  agent  an  autograph  letter  begin- 
ning Lieber  Getreuer  in  which  he  gave  him  a  free  hand  in  enlarging 
the  work,  and  thanked  him  for  the  big  returns  brought  to  the 
ducal  treasury  by  the  mine.  In  closing,  the  duke  said:  "We  must 
give  you  the  praise,  next  to  God,  for  the  prosperity  and  increase, 
which  will  never  be  forgotten  by  us." 

The  duke's  careful  management  is  seen  in  an  investigation 
of  the  cost  of  production  which  he  had  made  between  1530  and 
1540,  at  a  time  when  the  mines  brought  in  almost  nothing.146 
The  amount  of  metal  which  each  shaft  should  produce,  with  the 
cost  of  charcoal,  wood  and  labor,  was  estimated  to  the  smallest 
detail.  The  result  of  the  inquiry  was  a  change  of  method 
which  produced  a  profit  and  the  establishment  of  a  fixed 
price  for  metal,  according  to  the  mercantile  theory  of  the 
period.  There  is  no  doubt  that  in  developing  this  industry  Henry 
did  well  for  the  duchy  and  for  himself.  He  had  the  reputation  of 
having  spared  no  trouble  or  expense  for  anything  which  could 
improve  the  mines  or  increase  their  output.  Owing  to  his  energy 
the  wealth  of  his  line  was  increased,  but  whether,  like  his  son 
Julius  he,  carried  on  any  commerce  in  metals  with  foreign  coun- 

145  Hake,  Bergchronik,  72  and  74. 
J«  Leibrock,  H.  Z.,  1875,  286. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  63 

tries,  is  unknown.147  Rehtmeier  says  that  Henry  "understood  well 
how  to  find  the  key  to  the  iron  door  possessed  by  the  early  miners." 
Hake,  in  summing  up  the  duke's  mining  enterprises  says  that  he 
gave  the  miners  charters  and  built  gallery  after  gallery  at  great 
expense  to  aid  investors  from  near  and  far.  When  the  crops  failed 
he  provided  his  people  with  grain  at  a  reasonable  price.  There  is 
a  real  sincerity  in  the  grief  expressed  at  his  death,  for  Henry  had 
played  a  patriarchal  role  towards  these  mountain  people  and  had 
stood  in  close  personal  relationship  to  them.  They  regretted  the 
loss  of  a  father  rather  than  of  a  prince. 

Here  then,  was  a  man,  who  without  strong  religious  convic- 
tions spent  the  best  years  of  his  life  in  wars  into  which  religious 
considerations  entered.  He  seemed  to  love  war  for  its  own  sake. 
Yet  the  instant  he  was  at  peace  he  threw  himself  heart  and  soul 
into  the  reorganization  of  his  lands.  We  fail  to  understand  him 
if  we  do  not  see  the  same  motive  underlying  both  sorts  of  activity. 
The  career  of  Henry  the  Younger  is  a  manifestation  of  the  phe- 
nomenon which,  as  Schmoller  has  pointed  out,  was  taking  place 
throughout  Germany  from  the  fifteenth  to  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.148 Towns  and  the  country  around  them  were  gradually 
associated  under  one  authority,  and  the  political  unit  thus  formed 
had  a  tendency  to  become  an  economic  unit  as  well.  The  custom 
of  dividing  and  subdividing  the  Saxon  lands  had  persisted  late 
but  ended  in  1495,  when  William  the  Younger  made  his  sons 
joint  heirs.  From  this  time,  the  policy  of  each  ruler  was  to  increase 
his  territory  as  much  as  possible  and  to  build  up  a  strong  princi- 
pality. Henry  the  Elder  was  the  first  to  have  this  strengthening 
of  his  dominion  definitely  in  view  and  to  take  a  step  towards  his 
goal  in  trying  to  put  down  the  estates.149  This  struggle  is  epitom- 
ized in  the  question  of  taxes.  The  lord  constantly  needed  more 
money  to  administer  the  central  government  and  the  nobles  and 
cities  struggled  against  this  encroachment  on  their  old  rights. 
Henry  the  Younger  did  far  more  than  his  father  in  strengthening  his 
duchy;  at  the  very  beginning  of  his  reign,  in  the  struggle  for  the 
Hildesheim  lands  something  more  than  mere  greed  of  acres  is  to 
be  discerned.  Oehr  says  of  him:  "We  must  recognize  in  Henry 

147  Havemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  499;  Sack,  H.Z.,  1870,  307. 

148  The  Mercantile  System,  14. 

149  Oehr,  Landliche  Verhtitnisse  in  Hzthm.  Braunschweig-Wolf enbtiUelt  2. 


64  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

the  advocate  of  the  absolute  power  of  princes,  the  champion  of 
the  territorial  principality,  against  the  centrifugal,  particularistic 
tendency  of  the  century.150  It  is  in  this  light  that  his  quarrels 
with  Brunswick  and  Goslar  are  to  be  interpreted. 

When  peace  finally  came  the  duke  was  free  to  organize  the 
lands  over  which  he  at  last  ruled  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name.  We 
have  seen  how  earnestly  he  sought  to  put  the  mines  on  a  paying  basis 
by  giving  them  charters  and  codes,  and  by  developing  them  with 
his  own  capital.  Moreover,  he  tried  to  give  all  his  land  peace  and 
security  in  return  for  taxes.  A  noteworthy  part  of  the  duke's  peace 
labors  was.  the  establishment  in  1556  of  a  code  of  justice  which  was 
the  work  of  his  chancellor,  Dr.  Mynsinger  of  Frundeck.151  This  was 
based  on  the  imperial  code  of  1555,  and  aimed  to  replace  the  old 
Saxon  by  the  Roman  law.  WTith  slight  changes,  this  code  was  issued 
three  years  later  under  the  aegis  of  imperial  confirmation,  and  in 
1560  Henry  secured  the  privilege  of  non  appellando,  thus  establish- 
ing the  independence  of  the  courts  of  Brunswick-Wolfenbiittel. 
In  the  last  year  of  his  life  he  introduced  into  his  territory  the 
criminal  code  of  Charles  V.152  Thus  Henry  in  concentrating 
power  in  his  own  hands  was  also  establishing  a  standard  which  his 
officials  must  live  up  to  in  order  that  the  peace  of  his  land  might 
rest  on  no  haphazard  basis.  That  he  was  not  absolute  is  seen  in 
the  refusal  in  1560  of  the  estates  to  accept  his  police  code  on  the 
ground  that  the  lord  might  not  raise  the  taxes  of  his  copyhold 
tenants.163 

In  estimating  Henry's  work  and  character,  it  is  necessary  to 
keep  in  mind  the  underlying  motive  of  all  his  activities,  the 
desire  to  strengthen  his  duchy  and  centralize  the  power  as  far 
as  he  was  able.  He  was  developed  in  the  hard  school  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  He  spent  the  best  years  of  his  life  fighting  with 
his  friends,  neighbors  and  subjects  and  was  for  long  the  butt  of 

I600ehr,  op.  cit.;  4. 

161  Merkel,  Der  Kampf  des  Fremdrechtes  mit  dem  einheimischen   Rechte 
in  B.  L.,  42.    Mynsinger  or  Miinsinger  von  Frundeck  has  been  called  the 
founder  of  cameralistic  jurisprudence.    Allgemeine  Deutsche  Biographic. 

162  Merkel,  op.  cit.,  46. 

163  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  393.    For  a  discussion  of  the  sense  in  which  the 
word  Polizei  was  used  in  the  sixteenth  century,  see  Small,  The  Cameralists 
436  ff. 


HENRY  THE  YOUNGER  OF  BRUNSWICK- WOLFENBUTTEL      65 

their  low  doggerels;  he  saw  his  two  best  loved  sons  slain  on  the 
same  day  and  gave  no  sign.  What  wonder  that  he  was  stern, 
harsh,  cruel?  He  was  not  a  man  of  high  ideals  and  failed  utterly 
to  understand  the  real  meaning  of  Luther's  movement;  he 
remained  faithful  to  his  emperor  and  his  church,  but  for  political 
reasons;  he  fought  the  League  of  Schmalkald  for  his  lands,  not 
for  his  faith.  In  taking  leave  of  Henry,  let  us  remember  the 
homely,  human  side  of  his  character.  He  was  not  only  a  politic 
courtier  and  stern  fighter,  but  a  man  who  could  keep  his  temper 
when  his  horse  had  thrown  him  and  made  him  appear  ridiculous  ;184 
he  was  ready  to  kill  the  chief  of  the  mines  who  had  displeased  him, 
but  had  a  gracious  greeting  for  the  ancient  miner  sitting  by  the 
roadside.156 

™Hake,Bergchronik,  72,  1. 
166  Ibid.,  44,20;  65,9. 


CHAPTER  V 

JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL 
1528-1589 

Germany  was  still  in  the  early  stages  of  the  Protestant  revolt 
when  in  1528  this  third  son,  Julius,  was  born  to  Henry  the  Younger 
of  Brunswick-Wolfenbiittel.  Lamed  by  a  fall  in  childhood, 
Julius  was  considered  by  his  fighting  father  fit  only  for  the 
church,  and  to  this  end  was  educated.  He  was  sent  to  Louvain 
"where  he  learned  to  understand  some  Latin."1  The  young  prince 
also  visited  Paris,  Bourges  and  Orleans  and  learned  to  speak  and 
understand  French  fairly  well.2  While  Julius  was  still  a  child, 
Henry,  who  it  will  be  remembered,  was  a  staunch  Catholic 
obtained  for  his  son  a  canonical  position  at  Cologne.  But  Julius, 
either  in  the  Netherlands  or  in  France,  fell  under  Protestant 
influence  and  soon  after  his  return  home  declared  himself  a  Luth- 
eran.3 This  did  not  particularly  grieve  Henry  for  his  two  eldest 
sons,  his  comrades  on  many  a  battlefield,  were  still  alive.  With 
their  death  at  Sievershausen  in  1553  all  was  changed,  and  the 
sickly,  Protestant  youth  became  the  heir  of  the  Catholic  leader. 
The  father's  grief  for  his  well  loved  sons  turned  to  hatred  of  the 
younger  child  who  seemed  to  him  an  interloper.  In  1556  Henry 
married  his  second  wife,  Sophia  of  Poland,  hoping  for  another 
son.  When  this  hope  failed  the  project  of  legitimizing  one  of  his 
sons  by  Eva  von  Trott,  in  order  to  make  him  his  heir,  was  seriously 
considered.  For  Henry's  life  had  taught  him  that  the  duke  of 
Brunswick  must  be  a  fighter,  that  the  duchy  could  not  be  protected 
without  wars  and  Julius,  the  crippled  scholar,  seemed  utterly 
unfitted  for  the  task  of  ruling  the  land,  which,  under  his  father 
had  seen  such  troublous  years.  The  enmity  between  father  and 
son  increased  by  Julius'  stubborn  refusal  to  go  to  mass,  grew  until 
the  son  was  forced  for  a  time  to  leave  the  court  at  Wolfenblittel. 

1  Algermann,  Leben  des  Herzogs  Julius  zu  Braunschweig  und  Luneburg,  174. 
This  life  was  written  in  1598  by  the  treasurer  and  private  secretary  of  Duke 
Julius.    It  was  published  by  F.*K.  von  Strombeck  at  Helmstedt  in  1822. 

2  Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  954. 

1  Merkel,  Julius,  Herzog  von  Braunschweig  und  Luneburg.    Z.  K.  G.  f  iir 
N.S.,  1896,  25. 

66 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK- WOLFENBUTTEL  67 

After  his  marriage  to  Hedwig  daughter  of  Joachim  II  of  Branden- 
burg in  1560,  relations  seem  to  have  been  more  friendly  and  the 
first  grandson  proved  a  real  peacemaker.  So  Julius,  was  recog- 
nized as  the  heir  and  on  Henry's  death  in  1568  became  duke 
of  Brunswick- Wolf enbiittel. 

Less  than  two  months  after  his  accession,  Julius,  by  right  of 
the  religious  peace  of  Augsburg,  introduced  the  Lutheran  religion 
into  his  duchy.  Toleration  formed  no  part  of  this  policy  which 
was  inevitably  resisted  alike  by  Catholics  and  non-Lutheran 
Protestants.  Not  only  was  the  celebration  of  the  mass  forbidden, 
but  Zwinglians,  Anabaptists,  and  all  other  Protestants  who 
differed  from  Luther  were  frowned  upon.  The  new  church  ordi- 
nance based  on  the  Augsburg  Confession,  promulgated  January  1 , 
1569  and  revised  in  1615,  is  still  in  use  in  the  present  duchy  of 
Brunswick.4  In  introducing  the  reformed  religion,  Julius  did  not 
confiscate  the  monastery  lands  but  left  most  of  them  to  their 
owners  on  condition  that  schools  be  opened  in  the  monasteries.6 
In  order  to  get  a  thorough  education  he  himself  had  been  forced  to 
leave  Brunswick  and  so  throughout  his  life  he  tried  to  provide 
the  best  advantages  for  his  people  at  home.  He  planned  schools  for 
all  the  cities  and  villages  of  his  dominions,  but  was  chiefly  inter- 

4  Bodemann,  Herzog  Julius  als  deutschen  Reichsfilrst.  Z.  N.S.,  1887,  261. 
This  ordinance  is  printed  in  the  Chur-Braunschweig-Liineburgische  Landes 
Ordnungen  und  Gesetze.  It  was,  however,  so  little  enforced  that  even  in 
Julius'  time  it  was  said  that  nowhere  were  the  church  regulations  less  observed 
than  in  the  Brunswick  lands.  Krusch,  Z.  N.S.,  1894,  130.  A  large  part  of 
the  ordinance  was  written  by  Martin  Chemnitz.  A  curious  instance  of  the 
way  in  which  religious  and  political  motives  were  interwoven  in  the  sixteenth 
century  is  seen  in  the  story  of  the  bishopric  of  Halberstadt.  This  was  vacant 
in  1566  and  Henry  of  Brunswick  had  his  two  year  old  grandson  Henry  Julius 
son  of  Julius,  appointed  to  the  vacancy.  The  Protestant  Julius  had  scruples, 
especially  since  the  income  from  the  heavily  mortgaged  bishopric  was  small, 
but  finally  gave  his  consent,  and  in  1578  Henry  Julius  was  installed  as  bishop 
with  Catholic  ceremonies.  He  even  received  the  tonsure.  The  comment  of 
Martin  Chemnitz  on  this  proceeding  was  that  the  duke  had  "sacrificed  his 
son  to  Moloch."  Lutheran  opinion  throughout  northern  Germany  was 
aroused  against  Julius  and  he  received  protests  from  all  sides.  This  episode 
embittered  his  relations  with  the  princes  of  his  party.  Henry  Julius  in  his 
turn  put  sons  and  brothers  into  bishoprics.  Nor  were  these  isolated  cases. 
Bodemann,  Die  Weihe  und  Einfiihrung  des  Herzogs  Heinrich  Julius  von  Braun- 
schweig als  Bishof  von  Halberstadt,  Z.  N.S.,  1878,  241.  Heinemann,  op.  cit., 
II,  407,  472. 

1  Algermann,  op.  cit.,  191;  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  470. 


68  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

ested  in  the  grammar  school  founded  by  his  father  at  Gandersheim. 
Owing  to  local  conditions  this  school  was  transferred  to  Helmstedt 
and  in  1576  Julius  attained  his  long  cherished  ambition  of  raising 
it  to  the  rank  of  a  university.6  He  spared  no  care  or  money  in 
carrying  out  his  plan.  In  1581  there  was  an  attendance  of  more 
than  600  students  for  the  new  university  had  become  popular 
with  the  young  Protestant  princes  from  all  parts  of  Germany. 

Except  in  religion  Julius  made  no  great  change  in  his  father's 
policy.  Henry  had  always  been  kept  poor  by  his  wars  and  left  a 
heavy  debt  in  spite  of  the  financial  reorganization  made  possible 
by  the  peace  of  his  last  years.  Recognizing  the  value  of  his 
father's  work,  Julius  based  his  court  regulations  of  1571  on  those 
of  Henry.  Their  aim  was  to  maintain  a  well  filled  treasury, 
always  Julius'  chief  concern.  To  attain  this  end,  peace  was  for 
him,  as  for  Elizabeth  of  England,  a  necessity.  By  developing  the 
resources  of  his  country  to  the  utmost  Julius  procured  prosperity 
for  himself  and  for  his  people.  He  used  to  say  that  though  God 
had  given  him  but  a  small  land,  every  foot  of  it  should  be  devel- 
oped. His  father  had  trained  him  to  such  strict  economy  that  the 
practice  of  saving  became  a  habit  which  he  carried  through  life, 
and  his  apparent  stinginess  was  the  result  of  his  inheritance  of 
mortgages  from  Henry  the  Younger.  The  picture  of  his  father, 
creeping  away  from  his  creditors  at  the  warder's  signal  was 
indelibly  stamped  on  the  son's  mind.  Julius'  industry  was 
untiring  and  the  court  preacher  said  of  him  that  he  "  worked  more 
than  even  his  most  superior  and  industrious  servant."  His  suc- 
cess is  registered  by  the  sum  of  700,000  thalers  which  he  had 
accumulated  at  the  time  of  his  death.7 

By  far  the  greater  part  of  his  wealth  came  from  the  Harz 
mines,  which  under  Julius  were  developed  and  exploited  as  never 
before.  We  have  followed  the  history  of  these  mines  under 
Henry  the  Younger,  "who  was  a  good  miner  and  built  the  mines  in 
the  Harz  forests  and  on  the  Rammelsberg  at  great  expense  and 

6  Hassebrauk,  Julius  und  die  Stadt  Braunschweig.    Jb.  G.  V.  B.,  1906,  61; 
Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  407.    In  the  university  there  was  a  faculty  of  theol- 
ogy, of  law,  of  medicine  and  of  arts,  directed  in  Julius'  time  by  twentyfour 
men.    Algermann,  op.  cit.,  196.    The  jurists  lecturing  at  Helmstedt  played  no 
small  part  in  introducing  the  Roman  law  into  Brunswick,  see  below  87. 

7  Bodemann,  Die  Volkswirtschaft  des  Herzogs  Julius  von  Braunschweig, 
Z.  K.  G.,  1872,  237. 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK- WOLFENBUTTEL  69 

not  without  return."  Immediately  after  the  death  of  Henry, 
Julius  had  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  Harz  investigated.  Years 
later,  in  1586,  a  thorough  study  of  all  the  mineral  products  of 
the  duchy  was  undertaken  by  Hans  Fischer,  the  noted  master  of 
mines  from  Heidelberg,  and  Julius'  manager  of  the  Rammelsberg, 
Erasmus  Ebener,  who  had  been  called  from  Nuremberg  by  Henry 
the  Younger.  It  was  Ebener  who  made  the  discovery,  often 
attributed  to  Julius,  that  zinc  and  copper  can  be  combined  to 
make  brass.8  From  first  to  last  the  duke's  interest  in  mining  was 
unflagging.  In  1574  he  wrote  to  his  stepmother:  "I  am  possessed 
by  the  devil  of  mining  as  most  princes  are  by  the  devil  of  hunting." 
The  duke  loved  chemistry  and  had  a  technical  and  scientific 
knowledge  of  metallurgy  which  was  especially  useful  in  developing 
his  smel ting-houses.9  His  constant  aim  was  to  organize  and 
develop  his  mines  along  scientific  lines,  and  his  success  may  be 
measured  by  the  fact  that  during  his  reign,  the  mines  brought  in 
annually  20,000  thalers  more  than  during  Henry's  lifetime. 
Every  week  the  mine  officials  made  a  report  to  Julius  of  the  output 
from  each  mine,  and  of  the  supplies  needed.10 

On  his  accession,  Julius  found  the  Harz  mines  in  full  operation. 
The  control  of  the  Rammelsberg  gained  by  Henry  in  1552  and  his 
organization  of  the  Upper  Harz  works  broke  the  way  for  his  son's 
greater  undertakings.  At  the  Rammelsberg,  Christoph  Sander 
had  been  manager  since  1563.11  A  statement  of  his  regulations 
for  the  mines  and  smelteries  formulated  at  Julius'  request  a  few 
months  after  Henry's  death,  shows  that  grievous  abuses  had  crept 
in  through  maladministration.12  In  the  interest  of  uniform  good 

8  Beck,  Herzog   Julius   von   Braunschweig    und   die   Eiseninduslrie   am 
Oberharz,  H.  Z.,  1889,  303. 

9  Bodemann,  Die  Volkwirthschaft,  etc.,  200,  205. 

10  Algermann  says,  187,  that  the  records  written  on  parchment  were 
carried  by  the  duke  in  two  silver  cases  which  he  wore  about  his  neck.    See 
also  Hake,  Bergchronik,  101,  16. 

11  Hake,  Bergchronik,  72,  19.    Under  Henry  the  mine  was  so  unprofitable 
that  the  duke  considered  abandoning  it.    Ibid,  75,  1. 

12  Honemann,  Die  Alterthiimer  des  Harzes,  II,  142.    These  regulations 
are  given  in  full  by  Hake,  Bergchronik,  79  ff.,  and  show  that  dishonesty  in  the 
use  of  wood  and  charcoal  had  been  flagrant  and  that  it  was  customary  to  give 
false  measure  of  ore.    As  a  result  of  Sander's  organization  the  duke's  share  of 
ore  from  the  Rammelsberg  increased  from  370  to  5,200  hundredweight   a 
week.    When  a  subsidy  was  necessary  it  could,  under  the  improved  conditions 


70  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

management  Julius  ordered  Sander  to  inspect  the  upper  mines 
once  a  week  but  the  friction  caused  by  his  criticisms  was  so  great 
that  the  duke  in  1572  solved  the  problem  by  giving  him  the  con- 
trol of  both  the  upper  and  lower  Harz  mines.13  Not  content  with 
reorganization,  Julius  opened  new  mines  and  enlarged  and 
improved  many  which  were  already  in  operation.  During  the  life 
of  Henry  an  investigation  of  the  Herzberge  just  east  of  the  Ram- 
melsberg  had  been  made  with  a  view  to  operating  a  mine.14 
Julius  undertook  the  work  anew  and  on  a  larger  scale.  In  1568  he 
called  on  the  nobility  of  Brunswick  and  the  neighboring  lands  to 
invest  200,  100  or  50  thalers  each  to  become  members  of  the  new 
mining  company.  The  response  was  general,  and  no  great  name 
of  Brunswick  is  absent  from  the  list  of  stockholders.  Nobles  from 
neighboring  lands  also  joined,  and  such  rulers  as  the  duke  of 
Grubenhagen,  Franz  the  Elder  of  Saxony  and  the  count  of  Stol- 
berg.  Among  the  investors  were  several  women,  many  church- 
men, councillors  and  mine  officials  in  the  service  of  Julius,  and 
burghers  of  Helmstedt  and  Hildesheim.  There  were  133  who 
subscribed  200  thalers  each,  133  who  risked  100  thalers,  and  24 
who  could  spare  only  50.  The  name  of  Duke  Julius  himself  heads 
all  three  lists  and  the  total  investment  was  approximately  40,000 
thalers.  A  notice  sent  by  Julius  in  1573  to  each  associate  offered 
free  wood  for  building  in  the  mines  and  for  fuel,  and  iron  at  a  low 
price.  If  after  nine  years  any  investors  wished  to  withdraw,  the 
duke  promised  to  buy  back  their  shares.  Erich  of  the  Calenberg 
line,  who  had  joint  control  with  Julius  over  the  "Kommunion" 
mines  apparently  took  little  share  in  their  administration.  In 
1579  he  gave  Julius  the  right  to  open  new  mines  or  improve  old 
ones  in  the  Herzberge  or  elsewhere.  A  plan  to  develop  mines  in 
the  Lautenthal  north  of  Wildemann  seems  not  to  have  been  put 
into  operation.  The  old  Rammelsberg  mine  was  enlarged  by 


be  paid  from  the  profits  of  the  smelting-houses,  rather  than  from  the  duke's 
treasury  as  had  been  the  custom.  By  1575  the  duke's  annual  income  from  the 
Rammelsberg  mines  and  smelteries  had  increased  "more  than  several  thou- 
sand gulden."  Hake,  97,  40  ff.,  gives  in  detail  the  result  of  Sander's 
reorganization. 

"Hake,  Bergchronik,  91,  28;  126,  25;  Malortie,  Beitrage,  etc.,  IV,  168. 

14  Gunther,  Ein  Versuch  des  Herzog  Julius  zur  Belebung  des  Bergbaus, 
H.  Z.,  1910,  107  ff. 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  71 

the  building  of  the  "deep  gallery"  in  1585,  and  its  output  of  silver 
thereby  greatly  increased.15 

In  the  Upper  Harz  mines  Julius  undertook  the  building  of 
many  new  galleries.  Of  these  the  "Getrosten  Julius  Stollen" 
begun  in  1570  were  the  most  important.16  They  opened  from 
Meinersberge  in  the  Stubenthal  (Steuerthal  today)  and  were  1377 
fathoms  in  length,  probably  the  most  extensive  of  the  district. 
There  were  signs  that  mining  had  been  actively  carried  on  in  this 
valley  by  early  miners  in  the  period  closed  by  the  Black  Death. 
The  most  skilled  miners  of  Henry  the  Younger  in  spite  of  their 
belief  that  "great  treasure  awaited  him  who  could  open  this 
iron  door,"  had  been  discouraged  after  long  attempts  to  build 
mines  here.  Julius  was  more  fortunate,  for  in  1570  his  miners 
found  a  place  where  they  could  force  an  entrance  into  the 
hillside.  From  there  mines  could  be  opened  up  throughout  the 
valley  and  within  five  years  many  new  ones  were  in  successful 
operation.  The  chief  yield  was  copper  and  lead.17  There  was 
still  the  old  difficulty  connected  with  getting  rid  of  the  water. 
This  seems  to  have  been  particularly  bad  in  1573  when  the  new 
galleries  built  for  drainage  proved  to  be  too  close  to  the  passages 
of  the  mines,  so  that  great  damage  was  done  by  an  overflow.  It 
was  probably  because  of  such  calamities  that  a  new  machine  for 
draining  the  mines  was  installed  in  1576.  Towards  this,  Julius 
and  his  neighbor  and  cousin,  Erich  of  Calenberg,  joint  owners  of 
the  mines,  each  gave  thirty  thalers.18 

This  energetic  exploitation  of  the  mineral  resources  necessi- 
tated an  increased  number  of  miners.  In  1573  Julius  issued  a 
statement  of  the  terms  on  which  either  natives  or  foreigners 
might  open  new  mines.19  Prospecting  might  be  carried  on  only 
with  the  written  permission  of  the  duke's  representative.  This 
gained,  the  mine  might  be  opened  and  ore  washed  and  purified 
at  the  expense  of  the  prospector,  who,  if  good  metal  were  found, 
received  a  lease.  To  attract  workers,  Julius  in  1578  offered  special 

16  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  416. 

16  Hake,  Bergchronik,  86,  10  ff.    Also  Calvor,  Eistorische  Nachricht  I,  26. 

17  Ibid.,  I,  26.    For  other  mines  built  by  Julius  see  Hake,  Bergchronik,  87 
11  ff. 

18  Ibid.,  94, 12;  1 10,  35.   Julius  also,  from  time  to  time,  installed  necessary 
machinery  in  various  mines.    Ibid.,  41.  22;  95,  21;  110,  30. 

"Bodemann,  Die  Volkswirthschaft,  etc.,  201. 


72  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

privileges  such  as  untaxed  food,  free  firewood  and  land  for  gar- 
dens.20 He  preferred  to  employ  his  own  people  rather  than 
strangers,  who  after  a  while  left  the  country  with  their  earnings. 
Poor  city  dwellers  who  were  blessed  with  three,  four,  five 
or  six  sons,  "who  in  these  hard  times  live  in  poverty  and  idleness," 
were  advised  to  send  one  of  these  boys  to  the  mines.  The  wages 
to  be  received  and  the  opportunities  for  advancement  were  pointed 
out.  .  Of  the  latter  there  was  no  lack,  for  an  intelligent  industrious 
youth  might  rise  from  the  lowest  place  in  the  stamping  works  to 
be  master  of  the  mines.  Those  taking  advantage  of  this  offer 
became  citizens  in  the  free  mine  towns  and  were  exempt  from 
all  taxes  and  service  to  the  lord.  Thus  they  would  become  "free 
burghers  where  otherwise  they  must  remain  peasants."  A  wed- 
ding present  from  the  duke  and  free  medical  attention  from  the 
apothecary  maintained  by  him  in  each  town  were  added  induce- 
ments. Pastors  were  asked  to  encourage  members  of  their 
congregation  to  become  miners.  A  further  instance  of  the  com- 
plaisance of  the  duke  towards  this  class  of  his  subjects  is  seen 
in  the  terms  on  which  he  sold  his  manor  at  Zellerfeld  to  the  muni- 
cipality of  that  town  in  1579.  With  it  went  the  rights  of  pastur- 
age, of  selling  wine,  beer  and  corn,  of  preparing  malt,  the  privilege 
of  carrying  on  other  business,  etc.,  etc.  Except  that  Julius  was 
seeking  chiefly  to  attract  his  own  people,  these  privileges  were  in 
effect  similar  to  the  charters  issued  by  his  father.21  There  is 
evidence  that  the  strangers  attracted  by  the  concessions  offered 
by  Henry  and  Julius  did  not  prove  desirable  citizens,  and  in 
1573  Julius  was  forced  to  issue  a  mandate  ordering  all  miners  to 
keep  the  peace.  In  this  he  made  Christoph  Sander  who  had 
charge  of  all  the  duke's  mines,  the  judge  in  whatever  matters 
were  under  dispute.  The  mine  code,  probably  the  last  one  issued 
by  Henry  the  Younger,  was  to  serve  as  guide.22 

Under  Julius  the  production  of  iron  which  was  probably  the 
chief  source  of  his  income  reached  a  development  previously 

20  This  Aufruf  in  the  Archives  at  Wolfenbiittel  is  published  by  Beck, 
H.  Z.,  1889,  309  ff.    See  also  H.  Z.,  1906,  267. 

21  No  mine  charters  (Bergfreiheii)  issued  by  Julius  have  been  preserved. 
Ibid.,  267. 

22  Beck,  op.  cit.,  314  ff.     Detailed  mining  regulations  governing  the 
laborers  are  to  be  found  in  Hake,  Bergchronik,  129  ff.    At  the  end  of  the 
chronicle  Hake  adds  much  technical  information  concerning  smelting  and 
kindred  subjects. 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  73 

unknown  in  the  Upper  Harz.  As  in  the  days  of  Elisabeth  and 
Henry,  Gittelde  was  the  centre  of  this  business  and  the  water- 
power  and  wood  of  the  Harz  made  it  possible  to  smelt  and  manu- 
facture the  ore  in  the  neighborhood.  The  process  of  smelting 
and  the  form  of  the  furnaces  used  in  Julius'  time  were  borrowed 
from  Siegerland,  where  both  had  been  known  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  before  his  time.23  In  1578  the  duke  installed  a  forge  at 
Gittelde  and  this  town  alone  supplied  the  tools  and  machinery 
needed  for  the  mines,  smelting-houses  and  stamping  works  of  the 
district.  Here  plows,  tires,  shovels,  sheet-iron,  bells,  etc.  were 
manufactured,  but  the  place  was  famous  above  all  else  for  artil- 
lery. On  November  7,  1579  Julius  issued  two  ordinances,  one  a 
mine  code  for  Grund,  a  town  some  two  miles  from  Gittelde,  the 
other  a  set  of  rules  for  the  iron  factory  at  the  latter  place.24  The 
former  regulations  were  addressed  to  Christoph  Sander,  "the 
head  superintendent  and  tithe  collector,"  and  to  the  people  and 
officials  of  Grund,  and  established  the  conditions  of  labor,  the 
privileges  accorded  workers  and  the  rules  under  which  new  mines 
could  be  opened.  The  occasion  for  the  regulations  seems  to  have 
been  the  misuse  and  misappropriation  of  ore,  coal  and  refined  iron. 
It  was  for  the  benefit  of  Julius'  subjects,  who  "weekly  and  daily 
are  engaged  in  no  other  pursuit  than  mining."  Such  men  were 
freed  from  all  service  to  their  lord.  Anyone  might  open  new 
mines  on  the  neighboring  Iberge,  but  no  ore  might  be  removed 
from  the  mine  until  it  had  been  measured  by  the  proper  official. 
An  overseer,  living  in  Grund,  assigned  the  mines  whose  size  was 
limited.  These  were  forfeited  unless  they  were  worked.  A  fine 
was  fixed  for  any  laborer,  associate  or  driver  who  sold  ore  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  officials  and  jury  of  the  mine  city.  Wood 
might  be  cut  only  under  the  direction  of  the  forester  and  according 
to  the  forest  regulations  of  the  duke.  Any  laborers  who  had  not 

28  Beck,  op.  cit.,  307.  These  high  furnaces  (Hochoferi)  measured  twenty 
feet.  Into  them  ore  and  charcoal  were  put  and  the  refining  process  continued 
day  and  night  for  weeks.  Another  treatment  was  required  to  make  the  ore 
malleable.  After  this  stage  the  product  was  more  suitable  for  casting  than  for 
making  steel.  Wedding,  Beitrdge  zur  GesChichte  des  Eisenhiittenwesens,  etc. 
H.Z.,  1881, 10. 

"Both  are  published  by  Beck,  H.  Z.,  1889,  317  ff.,  and  by  Calvor 
Historische  Nachricht,  225  ff.  The  Bergordnung  for  Grund  is  also  to  be  found 
in  Wagner,  op.  cit.,  1042.  The  original  of  the  regulations  for  Gittelde  is  in 
the  archives  at  Wolfenbiittel. 


74  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

been  paid  by  their  employer  might  appeal  to  the  duke's  manager. 
It  appears  from  these  regulations  that  the  iron  mines  were  worked 
by  men  who  rented  them  from  the  duke  or  occasionally  by  men 
who  actually  owned  the  ground.  The  laborers  were  paid  from 
the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  ore  which  was  sold  to  the  duke  at  a 
price  fixed  by  him.  The  second  set  of  regulations,  those  for  the 
smelting  and  stamping  houses  at  Gittelde,  governed  the  sale 
of  ore.  Here  the  chief  purpose  was  to  prevent  the  export  of 
metal,  for  the  duke  claimed  the  right  of  preemption  over  the  whole 
output.  The  product  of  every  smelting-house  had  to  be  deposited 
in  the  prince's  storehouse  each  Saturday.  No  owner  of  a  smeltery 
might  sell  the  refined  ore  nor  might  he  employ  any  laborer  dis- 
charged from  a  neighboring  house.  If  he  ceased  to  operate  or  for 
any  reason  failed  to  bring  ore  to  the  warehouse  his  smelting-house 
was  taken  from  him  and  given  to  someone  who  could  conduct  it 
better.  Workers  in  steel  and  smelters  were  subject  to  the  same 
regulations.  Inducements  were  offered  to  any  who  might  improve 
the  quality  of  the  metal  or  reduce  the  expense  of  production. 
The  smelting-houses  were  subject  to  weekly  inspection  by  the 
duke's  officials  and  the  duke  received  a  weekly  report  of  the 
amount  of  work  done  by  each  in  that  time.  Wood  and  coal  were 
supplied  in  moderation.  Christoph  Sander  and  the  officials 
under  him  were  charged  with  the  enforcement  of  these  rules. 
Julius'  greatest  profits  came  from  the  smelting-houses.  In  1569 
the  value  of  60,000  hundredweight  of  lead  produced  at  Goslar 
was  112,500  thalers. 

There  are  no  records  for  the  copper  smelteries,  but  the  brass 
works  at  Buntheim  brought  in  a  large  annual  income.  For  ten 
months  of  1573  the  returns  from  this  source  were  14,184  thalers, 
and  the  next  year  the  value  was  54,771  gulden.  In  1582  the  duke 
contracted  to  supply  the  city  of  Goslar  with  10,300  hundredweight 
of  vitriol  a  year  at  a  price  of  over  11,000  thalers.25  Evidently 
during  Julius'  life  the  production  of  the  baser  metals,  iron,  lead  and 
copper  was  far  more  profitable  than  silver  mining.  Brass,  green 
and  blue  vitriol  and  cadmia  were  also  of  economic  importance.26 
These  products  were  all  shipped  to  the  prince's  storehouse  in 
Wolfenbuttel.  The  lead,  "over  five  feet  high  and  four  feet  thick, 

25  Bodemann,  Die  Volkswirthschajt,  etc.,  207,  208. 

26  Algermann,  op.  cit.,  204. 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  75 

stood  like  a  leaden  wall  the  whole  length  of  the  market-place,  and 
there  were  in  the  warehouse  some  leaden  troughs  ten  feet  square, 
full  of  vitriol,  without  counting  what  lay  around  in  casks. " 

Much  of  the  metal  was  manufactured  near  the  mines.  Julius 
was  particularly  interested  in  utilizing  the  discovery  of  Ebener, 
and  for  this  purpose  established  a  brass  smelting-house  where 
water-power  was  used.  The  brass  was  made  into  wire,  kettles, 
chests,  money  boxes,  spinning  wheels,  bugles,  scabbards,  daggers, 
swords,  warming-pans,  boilers,  cups  for  wine  and  beer,  salt 
cellars,  trimmings  for  harness,  etc,  etc.  Julius  himself  in  1578 
planned  the  casting  of  brass  traveling  beds. 

Lead  and  iron  were  of  course  used  on  a  larger  scale.  In  the 
forge  established  in  1578  at  Gittelde,  the  duke  had  artillery  for  the 
protection  of  his  fortresses  cast  in  great  quantities.  "His  Grace 
had  at  this  time  a  firing  piece  sixteen  feet  long,  made  at  Gittelde 
called  'der  eiserne  Wildmann,'  and  later  a  culverin  thirty  six  feet 
long  which  could  be  loaded  from  behind."  The  latter  which  was 
placed  in  Wolfenbuttel,  cost  2000  thalers,  and  the  balls  from  it  are 
said  to  have  carried  a  mile.27  The  manufacture  of  cannon  made  the 
smelting-houses  of  Gittelde  famous  and  Julius  was  constantly 
introducing  new  models.  The  duke's  economy  is  shown  by  his  use 
of  slag,  until  his  time  regarded  as  mere  waste,  for  cannon  balls  of 
all  sorts.  In  1572,  54,000  of  them  were  kept  in  the  fort  at  Wolfen- 
buttel, while  some  78,000  were  stored  at  the  smelting-houses. 
This  invention  was  very  profitable.  Guns  also  were  made  at 
Gittelde.  Julius  was  especially  interested  in  this  branch  of  manu- 
facture and  made  many  inventions  and  experiments  in  fire-arms; 
to  keep  abreast  of  the  times  he  had  his  agents  visit  the  arsenals  of 
different  countries.28  The  importance  of  iron  for  the  making  of 
miners'  tools  and  machinery  has  already  been  mentioned. 

Lead  was  second  in  importance  only  to  iron  and  was  largely 
used  for  instruments  of  war.  All  sorts  of  utensils  were  made  of  it, 
as  well  as  such  garden  furniture  as  benches,  tables,  sprinklers  and 

27  Algermann,  op.  cit.,  206.  A  note  by  the  editor  says  that  these  two  firing 
pieces  of  hammered  iron  were  in  Wolfenbuttel  until  1788  when  they  were  sold 
and  sent  to  a  smelting-house.  Beck,  H.  Z.,  1889, 309  mentions  a  cannon  called 
the  "Wilder  Mann"  made  by  Julius  which  is  still  in  the  arsenal  at  Hanover.  The 
effect  of  the  general  use  of  gunpowder  on  the  manufacture  of  artillery  is 
obvious.  Bodemann,  Die  Volkswirtshaft,  etc.,  209. 

28  Algermann,  op.  cit.,  207,  208;  Bodemann,  Die  Volkswirthschaft,  etc., 
211. 


76  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

stags'  heads.  Saint  Jacob's  Church  in  Magdeburg  in  1584  was 
roofed  with  lead  presented  by  Julius.  The  quantity  of  his  supplies 
astonished  his  contemporaries.  In  1578  Hans  von  Schweinichen 
s*aid:  "Lead  was  piled  in  the  court  like  a  little  mountain.  Had 
they  wished  they  might  have  paved  the  whole  city  of  Wolfen- 
biittel  with  it  instead  of  with  stone.  In  times  of  need  it  could  be 
pulled  up  and  used.  There  is  an  incredible  quantity  of  lead  here."29 

The  copper  produced  by  the  duke's  mines  was  manufactured 
locally  into  such  articles  as  kettles,  bowls,  bathtubs  and  equipment 
for  breweries.  Copperas  seems  to  have  been  an  important  by- 
product.30 

Much  of  the  silver  and  copper  produced  in  these  mines 
was  made  into  currency  by  the  dukes  of  Brunswick.  The  right  of 
coining  money  was  a  privilege  highly  esteemed  by  the  princes  and 
cities  of  the  Empire  and  Henry  of  Brunswick  was  following  the 
usual  custom,  when  in  1558  he  had  a  thaler  struck  with  his  por- 
trait on  one  side  and  that  of  the  emperor  on  the  other.31  This 
general  right  of  coinage  made  any  uniformity  of  standard  prac- 
tically impossible.  The  disadvantages  resulting  from  this 
confusion  were  the  subject  of  frequent  discussion  and  in 
1555  the  princes  of  Brunswick  with  the  cities  Hildesheim, 
Gottingen,  Hanover,  Einbeck,  Hameln  and  Nordheim  agreed  on  a 
uniform  coinage  thus  conforming  to  a  measure  passed  in  the 
Diet.32  Henry  had  established  a  mint  at  Goslar  where  he 
and  his  son  after  him  coined  the  silver  found  in  the  Rammelsberg, 
at  Zellerfeld  and  at  Wildemann.  In  1585  a  mint  for  coining  silver 
and  copper  was  opened  at  Heinrichstadt.  This  was  not  used  after 
the  death  of  Julius ;  during  the  reign  of  his  son  Henry  Julius  only  the 
mints  at  Goslar,  Osterode,  Andreasberg  and  Zellerfeld  were  active.38 

29  Algermann,  op.  cit.,  236,  note. 

30  Sack,   Herzog  Julius  von  Braunschweig-Luneburg  als  Fabrikant  der 
Bergwerks  Erzeugnisse  des  Harzes.    H.  Z.,  1870,  305  ff. 

31  Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  938. 

32  Reichstags  Akten,  Jungere  Reihe,  III,  599;  Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  933,  934. 
In  1572  Julius   issued  an  edict  ordering  his  subjects  to  obey  a  measure 
regulating   coinage   which   had  been  passed  by  the  Diet  in  its  two  last 
sessions.    Certain  coins  were  no  longer  to  pass  as  currency,  and  the  value  of 
others  was  fixed.    Ibid.,  1010. 

33  Reichstaler,  whole,  half  and  quarter  were  coined  but  seldom  smaller 
pieces.    Gold  gulden  were  occasionally  coined.    See  Bahrfeldt,  Munzprag- 
ungen.   Z.  N.  S.,  1912,  242. 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  77 

In  1569  Julius  heard  that  a  salt  spring  had  been  discovered 
near  the  foot  of  the  Harzburg.  He  had  it  investigated  at  once 
and  soon  the  Juliushall  salt-works  were  in  operation.  The  duke, 
in  order  to  get  information  about  carrying  on  this  new  venture  sent 
an  agent  to  Liineburg,  the  great  center  for  salt  production.  He 
also  asked  William  of  Hesse  in  1571  to  send  him  a  man  skilled 
in  the  making  of  salt.  The  new  industry,  carried  on  at  several 
places  near  the  Harzburg,  proved  so  profitable  that  in  1590 
Christoph  Sander,  manager  here  as  well  as  over  the  mines,  wrote 
that  the  duke  "had  so  developed  the  salt  works,  without  causing 
hardship  to  the  poor,  that  the  mines  gave  yearly  profits  of  from 
ten  to  thirteen  thousand  thalers."34 

Julius'  prosperity  led  him  to  quarry  the  marble  which  his 
mountains  produced.  He  was  also  the  first  to  use  the  alabaster  of 
his  province.  In  157 1  he  sold  to  two  men  of  Mechlin  800  hundred- 
weight of  marble  and  alabaster  with  the  proviso  that  all  pieces 
large  enough  for  columns  or  for  table  tops  were  to  be  kept  by  the 
duke.  On  January  17,  1576  William  of  Hesse  wrote  to  Julius: 
"The  people  here  are  entirely  too  poor  to  build  with  marble,  but 
we  think  that  if  your  Grace  would  send  such  materials  to  Augs- 
burg or  Antwerp  they  might  be  disposed  of."35  Algermann  tells 
of  the  beautiful  marble  and  alabaster  altar  which  his  patron  had 
made  for  the  court  chapel.  They  began  to  make  lime  at  Zellerfeld 
in  1574  and  in  1586  an  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  to  use  coal 
in  the  process.  The  energetic  duke  also  found  among  his  seem- 
ingly inexhaustible  resources  a  sort  of  porous  granite  employed 
in  smelting.  This  had  previously  been  imported  from  England 
and  purchased  in  Antwerp.36 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  Julius  spared  no  pains 
to  use  and  develop  every  natural  resource  of  his  rich  lands,  and 
was  in  fact  "a  real  father  to  his  work  people."  He  was  successful 
in  his  enterprises  and  placed  his  duchy  on  a  sound  financial  basis. 
Salt,  much  of  it  sold  in  neighboring  provinces,  brought  in  upwards 
of  10,000  thalers  a  year.  In  1565  the  Rammelsberg  produced  150 
marks  of  silver  a  week,  and  in  1572  the  mines  in  the  Stubenthal 
brought  in  twenty  five  hundredweight  of  copper  ore  in  the  same 

34  Hake,  Bergchronik,  85,  30;  Bodeman,  Die  Volkswirthschaft,  etc.,  202  ff. 

36  Ibid.,  228. 

56  Hake,  Bergchronik,  97,  3;  JuTgQns,HannoverschenChronik,25^. 


78  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

length  of  time.  The  annual  income  from  smelting-houses  was 
150,000  gulden.  Julius  often  said  that  during  his  reign  the  mines 
produced  20,000  thalers  a  year  more  than  they  had  during  his 
father's  life  time.  But  it  is  hard  to  make  any  equation  between 
such  sporadic  estimates  of  his  income  and  the  modern  purchasing 
power  of  money.37  It  is  however,  certain  that  the  Harz  became 
famous  as  the  most  productive  mining  district  in  Germany. 

The  forests  were  of  the  utmost  importance  in  carrying  on  the 
mining  industry,  for  wood  was  in  the  early  days  the  only,  and 
always  the  chief  fuel.  It  was  needed  to  build  the  mines,  and  in 
far  larger  quantities  to  make  the  fires  for  the  smelting  furnaces. 
Under  Henry  the  Younger  the  conservation  of  the  Harz  forests 
had  required  and  received  attention.  Free  wood  was  among  the 
inducements  offered  to  the  miners  by  both  Henry  and  Julius, 
and  the  latter  issued  a  forest  ordinance  early  in  his  reign  and 
another  in  1585.38  According  to  these  the  forester  regulated  all 
use  of  wood.  Without  his  consent  none  could  be  cut  and  he  had 
power  to  determine  how  much  might  be  taken.  The  need  for 
economy  in  the  use  of  fuel  is  mentioned  more  than  once  in  the 
mine  ordinances  issued  by  Julius  in  1579  for  Gittelde  and  Grund.39 
Though  the  forests  were  never  a  great  source  of  income,  Julius 
always  realized  their  economic  importance  and  planned  to  keep 
them  up  by  replanting.40 

As  wood  grew  scarce  Julius,  towards  the  end  of  his  life  became 
interested  in  using  coal  in  his  furnaces.  In  June,  1585  he  issued 
an  ordinance  which  gave  warning  of  the  serious  conditions  which 
would  follow  the  exhaustion  of  the  wood  supply.41  The  only 
solution  was  to  find  a  substitute  and  "to  that  end,"  the  duke 
wrote,  "we  have  had  our  principality  examined  throughout  its 

"  Zimmermann,  Herzog  Julius  zu  Braunschweig  und  Luneburg,  etc. 
H.  G.  B.,  1904-5,  42.  The  accounts  were  heard  once  a  week  by  the  duke  at 
Zellerfeld,  Goslar  or  Wolfenbiittel.  Krusch,  Die  Entwickelung  der  Herzog- 
lichen  Braunschweigschen  Centralbehorden-,  Z.N.S.,  1894,  149;  Algermann, 
op.  cit.,  187. 

18  Bodemann,  Die  Volkswirthschaft,  etc.,  198. 

M  These  mine  ordinances  are  published  H.  Z.,  1889,  317  ff.  I  have  not 
found  the  forest  regulations  published. 

40  The  Rechnungsbuch  of  1579-80  shows  that  the  mines  and  smelting 
houses  brought  in  150,000  ,  agriculture  143,000  and  the  forests  9,000  gulden. 
Zimmermann  in  H.  G.  B.,  1905,  42. 

41  Bodemann,  Die  Volkswirtschaft  etc.,  204. 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK- WOLFENBUTTEL  79 

length  and  breadth  and  at  no  slight  cost  and  trouble.  At  length 
distinct  traces  of  coal  were  found  in  our  district  of  Hohenbiichen; 
a  mine  was  built  and  operated  for  several  years  at  great  expense, 
until  now  large  quantities  of  good  clean  coal  can  be  obtained.  It 
has  been  tested  and  found  good  for  burning  lime  and  bricks  and 
for  use  in  the  forges."  The  year  before  this  Julius  had  given 
directions  showing  how  coal  could  be  used  instead  of  wood  for 
smelting  and  in  vitriol  and  salt-works.  He  was  helped  by 
Johannes  Rhenanus  of  Hesse,  in  whose  country  coal  had 
been  successfully  used  in  salt  works.42  Coal  seems  to  have  been 
considered  only  a  makeshift,  as  something  which  could  take  the 
place  of  wood  in  the  smelting-houses  and  manufacturies,  but  not 
as  the  best  general  fuel.  Its  export  was  forbidden,  but  even  with 
this  regulation  the  coal-mines  did  not  produce  enough  to  supply 
the  home  demand.43  On  May  31,  1588,  Julius  sent  a  notice  to  the 
officials  of  his  duchy,  concerning  the  importation  of  coal  from 
Schaumburg.44  They  were  instructed  to  know  "at  what  price 
the  coal  was  bought,  where  it  was  taken,  at  what  price  it  was 
resold  and  what  salt,  malt,  cornmeal,  bacon,  beer,  iron  and  lead 
was  given  in  exchange  for  it."  They  must  also  be  informed  as  to 
the  cost  of  transportation  and  the  amount  of  coal  annually  con- 
sumed. The  economy  of  this  new  fuel  appealed  to  Julius  and 
he  was  very  sanguine  that  it  would  do  much  to  relieve  poverty  in 
his  dominions.  The  duke  also  tried  to  make  coke.  He  had 
experiments  made  with  heating  coal  to  expel  the  sulphur, 
"that  so  coal  could  be  more  conveniently  used  for  heating 
rooms,  for  fireplaces  and  chimneys  without  making  a  great  smoke 
and  a  bad  smell."45 

These  various  products  of  the  Harz  mountains  not  only  sup- 
plied the  needs  of  the  duchy  but  left  a  large  surplus  for  export. 
Julius  was  a  good  merchant  in  the  disposal  of  his  wares  and  made 
it  a  practice,  as  far  as  possible,  to  pay  for  necessary  imports  with 
mine  products  and  so  prevent  money  from  leaving  the  country. 
Many  of  his  contracts  with  his  subjects  and  with  foreigners  have 
been  preserved.  In  1568  he  made  an  arrangement  with  a  citizen 
of  Brunswick  by  which  the  latter  should  transport  all  the  steel 

44  Beck,  op.  cit.,  304;  Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  1009. 

43  Bodemann,  Die  Volkwirthschaft,  etc.,  228. 

44  This  is  printed  on  page  57  of  the  Braunschweig  Hofgerichtsordnung. 

45  Beck,  op.  cit.,  305. 


80  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514r-1589 

made  at  Gittelde  to  Brunswick.  In  1588  one  merchant  had  7088 
gulden  worth  of  Julius'  wares  in  storage  at  Frankfort.  In  1575  a 
citizen  of  Brunswick  arranged  to  buy  all  the  copper  ware  made  at 
Okersthurm.  In  the  same  year  Markus,  also  of  Brunswick, 
arranged  to  deliver  to  the  duke,  in  Brunswick  or  Wolfenbiittel, 
butter,  herrings,  eels,  and  Dutch  salmon  for  which  he  was  to 
receive,  free  of  transportation  charges,  five  hundredweight  of 
garden  benches,  three  of  lead  water-pipes  and  the  balance  of  the 
debt  in  white  vitriol.  A  contract  for  vitriol  was  made  in  1582  with 
citizens  of  Leipzig  and  Hanover.  In  one  case  the  provision  was 
made  that  silks  and  furs  might  be  taken  in  payment.46  In  1584 
Julius  agreed  to  send  at  the  latter's  expense,  to  August  of  Saxony, 
5000  hundredweight  of  lead  each  year  for  nine  years.  In  1569 
the  duke  sold  to  a  citizen  of  Antwerp  and  one  of  Leipzig  all  the 
lead  he  had  in  storage  at  Goslar,  60,000  hundredweight  valued  at 
112,500  thalers.  The  Dutch  dealer,  Estricks,  in  February  1574 
bought  lead  and  vitriol  to  the  value  of  4,500  gulden.  Under  the 
guarantee  of  two  merchants  of  Hamburg  he  arranged  in  payment 
to  buy  in  Antwerp,  and  deliver  unadulterated  in  Wolfenbiittel 
before  Easter,  pepper,  saffron,  Canary  sugar,  olives,  lemons, 
capers,  almonds,  mace  and  ginger.  Among  the  most  interesting 
of  these  contracts  is  one  made  with  Rautenkranz  of  Brunswick 
in  1574  by  which  the  merchant  agreed  to  furnish  Julius  with 
fourteen  sable  skins  at  a  value  of  5,600  thalers.  The  payment  was 
to  be  made  in  cannon  balls,  lead,  garden  benches,  marble  and 
alabaster  plates,  and  lead  water-pipes.  These  wares  were  to  be 
received  in  Magdeburg  or  in  Celle,  the  merchant  paying  the 
freight.  The  arrangement  left  a  balance  in  favor  of  Julius  which 
should  be  made  up  in  "sables,  martin,  Swedish  copper  or  linen, 
honey,  wax,  Russian  leather  and  the  like."  A  second  contract 
made  with  Rautenkranz  the  next  month  was  for  an  emerald,  a 
diamond,  a  white  sapphire,  an  emerald  in  a  ring  and  a  turquoise 
with  gold  setting,  the  whole  mounting  to  over  24,000  thalers. 
The  payment  was  to  be  made  in  lead,  vitriol,  lead  pipes,  etc.  The 
prince  also  often  exchanged  his  wares  for  rare  books.47  From 

46  Sack,  H.Z.,  1870,   308  ff.,  prints  many  contracts.     Bodemann,  Die 
Volksivirthschaft,  etc.,  225  ff. 

47  Merkel,   Julius,   Eerzog  -von  Braunschweig  und  Liineburg,  33.     Julius 
established  store  houses  at  which  his  humbler  workmen  could  obtain  pro- 
visions at  a  low  price.    These  purchases  were  balanced  against  their  wages 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  81 

these  transactions  it  will  be  seen  that  Julius  must  have  been  one 
of  the  greatest  merchants  in  his  dominions. 

Like  his  father,  Julius  was  often  involved  in  quarrels  with  his 
largest  city,  Brunswick.  The  disputes  were  usually  economic  in 
nature.  Before  the  burghers  had  sworn  allegiance  to  the  new 
prince  they  issued  in  1569  a  list  of  grievances  many  of  which  had 
figured  in  the  long  drawn  out  quarrel  with  Henry  the  Younger.48 
They  asked  their  old  privileges,  the  right  of  controlling  the  coin- 
age and  of  levying  taxes.  They  claimed  that  Julius  had  broken 
the  contract  made  by  his  father  in  1553 ;  that  the  great  sheep  walks 
constituted  a  hardship,  and  that  new  taxes  had  been  imposed. 
The  mortgaged  district  of  the  Asseberg  was  again  a  bone 
of  contention  between  the  duke  and  the  town.  Under  these 
demands  lay  the  merchant  spirit  feeling  its  power  and  wishing 
to  have  its  rights  recognized.  It  is  part  of  the  old  struggle  of  the 
city  for  political  independence.  Because  Julius  had  other  prob- 
lems to  meet  he  patched  up  his  troubles  with  Brunswick.  The 
compact  between  him  and  his  most  powerful,  most  troublesome 
city  bears  the  date  October,  1569.49  The  city  seems  to  have  been 
the  victor,  for  Julius  renounced  for  himself  and  his  heirs  his  claims 
to  jurisdiction  over  Brunswick;  he  gave  up  the  right  to  control  its 
coinage  or  finances,  to  collect  tolls,  or  to  demand  more  than  one 
day's  service  a  week  from  its  yeomen.  For  a  time  after  this  the 
relations  between  the  duke  and  the  city  council  were  friendly. 
In  1569  and  1572  the  taxes  for  the  war  against  the  Turks  were 
paid  into  the  duke's  treasury  without  protest  and  in  1573  the  city 
proved  very  responsive  to  Julius'  plans  for  internal  improvements. 
But  trouble  soon  recommenced.  The  council  complained  that 
Julius  by  conducting  breweries  interfered  with  its  chief  source  of 
income,  and  claimed  that  the  old  right  of  the  burghers  to  bring 

and  the  account  kept  on  a  tally-stick.  These  houses  also  developed  into  inns. 
Julius  aimed  to  build  such  houses  for  the  convenience  of  travelers  at  the 
intersections  of  the  principal  roads.  This  plan  was  not  executed,  probably 
because  the  duke  lost  between  twenty  and  thirty  thousand  thalers  on  the 
establishment  at  Wolfenbuttel.  Algermann,  op.  cit.,  208;  Heinemann,  op. 
cit.y  II,  427. 

48  The  best  account  of  this  quarrel  is  found  in  the  article  by  Hassebrauk, 
Julius  und  die  Stadt  Braunschweig,  Jb.  G.V.B.,  1907. 

49  This  agreement  is  printed  by  Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  991.    See  also  Alter- 
thiimer  Braunschweigs,  XLIX. 


82  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

their  wares  into  the  duchy  free  of  duty  had  been  interfered  with.50 
A  new  grievance  was  that  the  duke  planned  to  turn  the  river  Oker 
from  the  city. 

This  introduces  one  of  Julius'  pet  scheme  for  internal  improv- 
ments  which  was  at  the  same  time  a  main  cause  of  his  trouble 
with  the  city  of  Brunswick.  In  the  Netherlands  he  had  seen  the 
value  of  canals, and  when  the  transportation  of  his  mine  products 
became  a  problem,  he  thought  that  he  might  solve  the  difficulty 
by  copying  the  Dutch.51  The  Oker  was  the  chief  river  of  the  duchy 
and  Julius  dreamed  of  making  this,  and  some  of  the  streams  flow- 
ing into  it  navigable,  so  that  his  wares  could  be  floated  from  the 
Upper  Harz  down  to  Wolfenblittel  and  further  to  Brunswick.  In 
this  way  his  goods  could  be  transported  through  the  Aller  to  the 
Weser  and  thence  to  the  sea.  He  even  conceived  so  great  a 
project  as  that  of  connecting  the  Aller  and  the  Elbe  by  means  of  a 
canal.  Work  was  begun  on  the  upper  Oker  and  the  first  float 
reached  Heinrichstadt  near  Wolfenbiittel  in  1570.52  "In  a  short 
time  they  succeeded  in  bringing  all  the  wood  for  building,  beams 
of  sixty,  seventy,  eighty  and  more  feet  in  length,  also  boards,  laths 
and  firewood,  down  to  Heinrichstadt  by  water.  They  still  bring 
slate,  stone,  sand  and  earth  down  in  flat  boats  and  use  the  material 
for  filling  swamps  or  for  building,  thus  sparing  much  labor  and 
wear  on  wagons  and  harness."  Old  roads  leading  to  navigable 
rivers  were  to  be  improved  for  the  use  of  merchants  coming  from 
the  west  to  Saxony,  and  to  facilitate  the  handling  of  freight  from 
Bremen  and  Llineburg.63  In  February  1571  Julius  laid  before  the 
council  of  Brunswick,  a  plan  to  dredge  the  Radau,  a  stream  flow- 
ing into  the  Oker,  in  order  to  transport  salt  from  Juliushall  to 
Brunswick.  Three  years  later  the  duke  called  the  engineer  William 
de  Raet  from  the  Netherlands  to  give  advice  on  these  projects.  The 

50  In  1571  Brunswick  gained  the  permission  of  the  duke  to  collect  tolls 
on  certain  roads.    Through  this  privilege  the  city  protected  certain  foreign 
merchants  so  that  they  avoided  the  duke's  toll.    Julius  carried  the  question 
to  the  imperial  court  but  the  case  was  dismissed  from  lack  of  evidence. 
Hassebrauk,  Julius,  etc.,  57. 

51  Algermann,  op.  cit.,  203. 

52  Zimmermann,  op.  cit.,  57  ;  Bodemann,    Die  Volkswirthschaft,  etc.,  217. 
63  Ibid.,  215.    The  city  council  of  Brunswick  did  not  object  to  these  early 

measures  realizing  that  improved  transportation  meant  gain  for  the  city. 
However,  they  doubted  the  financial  success  of  the  undertaking  and  refused 
(1572)  to  make  a  loan  to  the  duke.  Hassebrauk,  Julius,  etc.,  50. 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  83 

plan  for  making  the  Oker  navigable  for  ships  from  the  Harz  to  Hein- 
richstadt  was  favorably  reported  on,  and  since  the  whole  lower 
Saxon  circle  would  be  benefited  by  such  a  waterway  the  duke 
hoped  to  attract  foreign  capital  by  means  of  concessions.  Of 
course  his  own  was  the  compelling  interest,  for  in  order  to  market 
his  wares  profitably,  Julius  needed  to  reduce  the  cost  of  transpor- 
tation. Before  closing  with  de  Raet  Julius  explained  his  plan  to 
the  prelates,  nobility  and  commons  of  his  own  land,  asking  their 
help  before  he  appealed  to  foreigners.  As  they  refused  to  invest, 
Julius,  in  1575  made  a  contract  with  de  Raet  who  was  to  organize 
a  "company  of  Burgundians  or  men  of  other  nations"  who  should 
carry  on  the  work  at  their  pwn  expense  and  risk,  but  who  should 
be  rewarded  with  particular  privileges.  The  purpose  of  the  com- 
pany was  to  make  the  Oker  navigable  for  ships  down  to  Bruns- 
wick and  to  make  the  Radau,  Ecker,  Innerste  and  some  other 
streams  passable  for  flat  bottomed  barges.  De  Raet  was  to  receive 
yearly  400  thalers  worth  of  mine  products,  and  10,000  thalers  in 
cash  on  completion  of  work  in  the  Oker  and  Radau.  However, 
these  plans  failed  because  it  was  found  impossible  to  attract  the 
necessary  investors;  so  Julius  was  forced  to  undertake  the  work 
at  his  own  expense,  employing  de  Raet  as  his  engineer.  The  Oker 
was  made  navigable  as  far  as  Wolfenbuttel,  but  when  it  came  to 
carrying  the  work  down  the  river  through  Brunswick,  the  city 
through  jealousy  of  the  towns  farther  up-stream,  objected  vigor- 
ously.54 When  all  other  attempts  failed,  the  city  in  March,  1577, 
obtained  an  order  from  the  Emperor  Rudolph  II  to  have  the  work 
stopped.  The  jealousy  and  short-sighted  particularism  of  the 
period  is  further  shown  in  the  refusal  of  William  of  Liineburg  to 
have  the  work  carried  on  in  his  lands,  and  in  the  protest  of  the 
duke  of  Grubenhagen  against  making  certain  of  his  streams 
navigable  for  wood  barges.56  Because  Brunswick  objected  so 
strongly  to  the  plan  Julius  decided  to  build  a  canal  around  the  city 
and  so  open  a  way  down  the  Aller  to  Celle  and  further,  to  Bremen 
on  the  Weser.56  Julius*  greater  plan  would  have  been  of  the  most 
lasting  benefit  to  all  the  lands  involved,  but  it  could  not  be  carried 
through  unless  men  were  willing  to  forget  their  petty  jealousies 

64  Bodemann,  Die  Volkswirthschaft,  etc.,  214  ff. 

MHassebrauk,  Julius,  etc.,  62;    Algermann,  op.  cit.,  217;    Bodemann, 
Die  Volkswirthschaft,  etc.  224. 
86  Algermann,  op.  cit.,  205. 


84  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1.589 

and  work  for  the  common  good.  The  odds  against  this  were  too 
great,  and  Julius  was  forced  to  abandon  his  visions  and  be  content 
with  having  made  his  capital  Wolfenbiittel  and  his  pet  town  Hein- 
richstadt  easily  accessible  to  his  mines  and  forests.67 

The  foregoing  shows  that  the  agreement  made  in  1569  between 
the  duke  and  Brunswick  did  not  settle  all  the  points  in  dispute. 
In  addition  to  the  "Oker  question,"  there  were  still  the  old  prob- 
lems connected  with  brewing,  taxation,  etc.  From  1569  the  city 
had  complained  that  Julius,  by  conducting  breweries,  interfered 
with  the  business  which  Brunswick  had  come  to  regard  as  her 
monopoly.  The  duke's  products  more  and  more  drove  those  of 
the  city  from  the  markets  of  the  district,  and  in  1574  he  added 
insult  to  injury  by  raising  the  excise  on  beer,  in  order  to  obtain 
money  for  waterways  and  for  his  new  university.58  Another 
subject  of  disagreement  was  that  of  the  mortgaged  districts,  an 
inheritance  from  the  time  of  Henry  the  Younger.  This  matter 
came  before  the  imperial  court  but  no  decision  was  given  during 
Julius'  reign;  the  city  meanwhile  remained  in  possession  of  the 
disputed  territory.  In  1578  Julius  was  ordered  by  the  imperial 
court  not  only  to  recognize  the  right  of  Brunswick  to  be  free  from 
ducal  taxation,  but  to  return  the  amounts  already  collected  from 
the  unjust  increase  of  taxes.  The  duke  evidently  did  not  take  the 
command  seriously  for  in  1581  the  burghers  complained  that 
repayment  had  not  been  made.  The  details  of  this  long  story  of 
endless  bickerings  are  tedious  and  sordid.  On  the  whole  the 
duke's  increasing  wealth  and  his  influence  with  the  emperor  gave 
him  the  upper  hand,  though  the  burghers,  recognizing  his  reluct- 
ance to  settle  the  dispute  by  force,  took  advantage  of  his  "war 
shyness"  and  allowed  themselves  great  liberties.  The  Jewish 
question  but  increased  the  difficulty.  Julius,  because  the  Jews 
were  such  clever  merchants,  allowed  them  to  settle  in  the  city  of 
Brunswick  while  the  citizens  denied  that  he  had  the  right  to  take 
this  action.59  Another  complication  arose  because  Brunswick 

67  In  connection  with  his  plans  for  navigable  waterways  Julius  had  new 
roads  built  and  old  ones  kept  in  repair.    He  threatened  to  dismiss  any  officials 
who  neglected  necessary  improvements  on  highways  over  which  his  wares 
must  be  transported.    Bodemann,  Die  Volkswirthschaft,  etc.,  211  ff. 

68  Hassebrauk,  Julius,  etc.,  57.    This  was  done  in  opposition  to  a  decision 
of  the  Diet  at  Regensburg. 

69  Hassebrauk,  Julius,  etc.,  67.    Julius'  treatment  of  the  Jews  may  be 
interpreted  as  part  of  his  good  business  policy.     Henry  had  banished  all 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  85 

was  jealous  of  the  new  city,  Heinrichstadt,  which  the  duke  took  the 
greatest  interest  in  building  and  fortifying.  In  1581  the  imperial 
taxes  were  deposited  by  Brunswick  in  the  treasury  of  the  free  city 
of  Leipzig  instead  of  being  given  to  Julius.  Two  years  later  the 
malcontents  claimed  the  rights  of  a  free  imperial  city  from  the 
emperor.  It  was  not  until  August,  1587  that  a  settlement  was 
reached,  on  the  basis  of  the  old  agreements  of  1553  and  1569.60 
But  the  event  had  proved  that  the  terms  of  both  left  many  oppor- 
tunities for  trouble.  Injustice  on  the  part  of  the  duke  would  be 
sure  to  cause  dissatisfaction  on  the  part  of  the  burghers  in  the 
future  as  it  had  done  in  the  past. 

A  contributing  cause  to  the  unpleasantness  between  Julius  and 
Brunswick  was  the  duke's  interest  in  developing  a  trading  town 
adjoining  the  fort  at  Wolfenbiittel.  He  called  the  settlement 
Heinrichstadt  in  honor  of  his  father  and  planned  to  use  it  as  a 
depot  for  mine  products.  In  vain,  the  city  of  Brunswick  appealed 
to  the  emperor  against  a  possible  rival.  As  early  as  1576  Julius 
gave  the  city  special  privileges  such  as  those  of  holding  markets, 
brewing  and  baking;  these  were  confirmed  in  1578  by  Rudolph  II.61 
Further  inducements  to  settlers  were  published  in  1584  and  1585. 
To  the  wealthier  classes  "nobles,  soldiers,  scholars,  companies 
and  merchants"  who  would  build  a  "knightly,  noble,  dwelling" 
the  duke  offered  land  enough  for  house,  courts,  brewery  and 
bakehouse.  He  was  also  willing  to  provide  building  material, 
asking  four  per  cent  interest  until  the  debt  should  be  paid.  To 
encourage  settlers  all  articles  necessary  for  household  use  could 
be  brought  into  the  city  free  of  taxes.  Merchants  were  also 
allowed  the  same  exemption  for  their  wares.  Free  quarterly 
markets  were  established  so  that  foreign  and  native  dealers  might 
know  the  best  time  to  transport  their  goods.  These  sales  lasted 
for  twelve  days  and  the  merchants  and  their  wares  were  under 
government  protection  during  that  time.  Markets  were  held 

Jews  and  forbidden  them  to  trade  in  or  even  to  pass  through  his  dominions. 
When  Julius  failed  to  reverse  this  action  they  appealed  to  the  emperor. 
Maximilian  (Jan.  20,  1570)  ordered  Julius  to  allow  them  to  pass  through  his 
lands  on  payment  of  the  customary  tax.  An  edict  of  Julius  dated  1578 
allowed  the  Jews  to  trade  in  mine  wares  and  assured  them  safe  conduct. 
Wiener,  Z.  N.S.,  1861,  248. 

60  Hassebrauk,  Julius,  etc.,  74. 

61  Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  1022;  Zeiller,  op.  cit.,  209. 


86  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514—1589 

each  Tuesday  and  Friday.  These  were  chiefly  for  food-stuffs 
but  velvet,  silk  and  other  wares  might  be  bought  and  sold.  Julius 
was  particularly  eager  to  attract  foreigners  to  Heinrichstadt. 
The  privileges  were  published  in  Latin  and  French  as  well  as  in 
German,  and  English;  Scotch  and  Portuguese  merchants  were 
named  among  those  who  might  enjoy  them.  Special  arrangements 
were  made  for  the  payment  of  foreign  debts.  A  good  many 
settlers  from  the  Low  Countries  were  attracted  but  otherwise  few 
foreigners  came.62  The  charter  of  1585  was  addressed  to  all 
classes  of  people.  This  repeated  the  promise  of  weekly  and 
quarterly  markets.  In  the  list  of  articles  which  might  be  bought 
and  sold  were  enumerated  all  sorts  of  native  food,  wood  and  coal 
and  merchants' ^wares.  The  city  of  Brunswick  protested  to  the 
emperor  that  this  charter  "had  gone  out  in  open  print,  and  one 
plans  to  build  great  new  cities  and  to  establish  workmen  where 
before  there  were  none."  Again,  the  city  whose  greatest  wealth 
came  from  trade  and  brewing  appealed  in  vain  to  the  emperor 
against  this  dangerous  growth  of  Wolfenbiittel.  As  previously 
stated,  the  settlement  between  Julius  and  Brunswick  which  was 
reached  in  1587  was  on  the  basis  of  the  old  agreements  in  which 
the  new  city  was  not  mentioned.  In  spite  of  the  jealousy  of  Bruns- 
wick Heinrichstadt  prospered  and  was  later  known  as  Julius- 
friedenstadt. 

There  were  also  difficulties  with  the  city  of  Goslar  during  the 
reign  of  Julius.  It  was  natural  that  this  city,  still  smarting  from 
its  defeat  by  Henry,  should  resent  any  encroachment  on  its  rights. 
The  protests  began  when  the  duke  (1571-72)  built  a  foundry  and 
undertook  the  manufacture  of  vitriol  just  outside  the  city  gate. 
An  even  greater  financial  hardship  was  the  installation  by  the 
duke  of  official  scales  which  took  from  the  city  the  profitable  task 
of  weighing  the  Rammelsberg  metal.  The  duke  also  set  up  near 
Goslar  an  apothecary  shop,  a  fulling-mill,  a  bakery  and  similar 
enterprises.  These  and  other  grievances  were  frequently  brought 
to  the  imperial  court  but  at  length  all  matters  of  dispute  were 
peacefully  compromised.63 

62  The  Heinrichstetische  Privilegia  are  published  in  the  Braunschweig 
Hofgerichtsordnung,  a  contemporary  collection.  See  also,  Algermann, 
op.  cit.,  190,  and  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  425. 

68  Heineccius,  op.  cit.t  515,  516;  Honemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  165. 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK- WOLFENBUTTEL  87 

Julius  administered  the  government  of  his  lands  with  the  same 
orderly  thoroughness  seen  in  his  conduct  of  the  mines.  Though 
he  occasionally  summoned  the  estates  to  meet  him  the  assembly 
had  little  real  power.  The  duke  reorganized  the  government 
offices  and  put  them  in  charge  of  trained  financiers.  The 
chancellor  followed  the  ordinance  of  Henry  the  Younger.64 
The  management  of  mining  affairs  and  public  works  and 
the  oversight  of  the  officials  was  undertaken  by  the  prince 
himself.  Julius  was  one  of  the  first  of  German  princes  to 
realize  the  need  of  a  comprehensive  reform  of  the  system  of 
taxation  which  was  a  survival  from  the  Middle  Ages.  He  aimed 
to  replace  the  old  payments  in  labor  and  in  kind  by  a  land  tax 
which  should  protect  the  peasants  and  farmers^  Knowing  that 
the  nobles  would  oppose  this  reform,  as  they  had  a  similar  project 
of  Henry's,  Julius  sought  to  interest  other  German  princes  in  the 
problem,  and  consulted  such  men  as  the  electors  of  Saxony,  of 
Brandenburg,  and  of  the  Palatinate.  All  recognized  the  need  of 
reform  but  none  brought  it  to  pass.  Though  Julius  did  not  suc- 
ceed he  at  least  broke  the  ground  for  his  successors.66 

One  of  Julius'  most  difficult  problems  was  to  make  effective  a 
uniform  system  of  justice  which  should  replace  the  old  Saxon 
customs  by  the  Roman  law.66  Henry's  code  of  justice  drawn  up 
by  the  humanist,  Dr.  Mynsinger  and  the  penal  code  of  Charles  V 
which  the  duke  introduced  into  Brunswick  had  aimed  to  accom- 
plish the  same  end.  Julius  in  1570  at  the  Landtag  at  Salzdahlum 
confirmed  his  father's  act  and  commanded  the  judges  to  follow 
this  code  which  should  apply  "to  all  our  subjects."67  In  1576  he 
established  a  university  at  Helmstedt  with  a  faculty  of  jurists 
whose  influence  was  of  course  in  favor  of  Roman  law.68  Among  the 

64  The  ordinance  was  revised  in  1572  and  served  as  a  foundation  for  the 
administrative  system  used  in  Brunswick  and  Hanover  into  the  nineteenth 
century.  Krusch,  Die  Entwickelung  der  Herzogliehen,  Centralbchfrden,  Z.  N. 
S.,  1894,  143,  153.  In  the  sixteenth  century  the  early  cameralists  Osse 
and  Lohneyss  influenced  electoral  Saxony  where  both  had  held  office. 
The  latter  entered  the  service  of  Julius'  son  Henry  Julius  in  1 583,  as  master 
of  the  mines.  Small,  op.  cit.,  40. 

"Heinemann,  op.  «/.,  II,  411-413. 

*  Ibid.,  II,  409. 

67  This  code  was  published  in  the  Braunschweig  Hofgerichtsordnung, 
Wolfenbiittel,  1571.    See  above,  64. 

68  Merkel,  Der  Kampf  des  Fremdrechtes  mil  dem  einheimischen  Rcchte  in 
Braunschweig-Luneburg,  46.    See  above,  68  n  6. 


88  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

best  known  of  these  men  was  Doctor  Joachim  Mynsinger  who  had 
served  Henry  as  chancellor  and  held  the  same  office  under  Julius 
until  1573.  The  high  court,  a  court  of  appeal,  was  composed  of 
nine  men  and  met  either  monthly  or  quarterly.69  Julius  did  not 
preside  over  this  court  as  his  father  had  done  but  received  the 
reports  of  its  decisions  from  his  secretary.  To  save  expense  Julius 
reduced  the  number  of  sessions  held  by  the  court  as  well  as  the 
length  of  each  session  but  it  lost  prestige  by  moving  from  place  to 
place  at  irregular  intervals.  In  1572  the  emperor  granted  to 
Julius  the  privilege  of  non  appellando  which  had  also  belonged  to 
Henry. 

Though  he  had  no  intention  of  going  to  war,  Julius  undertook 
a  reorganization  of  the  army.  He  aimed  to  replace  the  disorderly 
knights  and  mercenaries  by  a  popular  army  to  be  used  for  defen- 
sive purposes.  The  burghers  were  already  trained  to  defend  their 
cities,  but  the  duke  planned  to  arm  and  drill  the  mass  of  his  sub- 
jects, so  that  an  army  should  be  ready  for  any  emergency.  Guns 
from  the  iron  works  at  Gittelde  were  furnished  at  slight  cost. 
At  a  given  signal  the  citizens  were  ordered  to  appear,  fully  armed, 
at  the  meeting  place.  Shooting  matches,  in  which  several  cities 
took  part,  were  often  held.  To  improve  the  quality  of  the 
arms  manufactured  at  Gittelde  Julius  sent  agents  to  inspect  the 
works  at  the  most  important  manufacturing  centers,  Goslar, 
Augsburg  and  Nuremberg.  One  result  of  this  system  was 
that  the  arsenal  at  Wolfenbiittel  became  so  stocked  with  arms  and 
artillery  as  to  excite  the  wonder  of  all  beholders.70 

Four  years  before  his  death  Julius  inherited  from  his  cousin, 
Erich  II,  the  Gottingen  and  Calenberg  portions  of  the  Brunswick 
lands.  With  them  went  part  of  the  county  of  Hoya.  Though 
this  accession  of  land  doubled  his  territory,  Julius  assumed  his  new 
responsibilities  with  reluctance.71  These  lands  were  burdened 
with  debts,  their  resources  were  exhausted  and  the  task  of  reform- 
ing the  administration  and  amalgamating  the  new  territory  with 
the  orderly  Brunswick- Wolfenbiittel  was  appalling.  In  accepting 
the  inheritance  the  duke  was  undoubtedly  influenced  by  the  fact 
that  he  had  loaned  300,000  thalers  on  this  property.  On  the  other 
hand  the  people  living  in  Calenberg  and  Gottingen  dreaded  being 

69  Krusch,  op.  cit.,  131. 

70  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  410,  411. 

71  Algermann,  op.  cit.,  210;  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  432. 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  89 

under  the  rule  of  such  an  orderly  benevolent  despot  as  Julius. 
The  principal  cities,  Gottingen,  Hanover,  Northeim  and  Hameln 
thought  fearfully  of  the  difficulties  which  had  arisen  between 
Brunswick  and  Julius,  while  the  nobles  looked  forward  dubiously 
to  the  time  when  they  should  lose  the  lands  they  had  gained 
through  mortgages.  Julius  held  his  first  Landtag  in  the  new 
territory  at  Gandersheim  in  the  fall  of  1585  and  at  once  began  the 
work  of  reorganization.  Though  many  of  the  people  were  Catho- 
lic the  new  ruler  ordered  that  the  word  of  God  be  preached  accord- 
ing to  the  Augsburg  Confession  and  introduced  his  own  church 
regulations,  "that  the  two  great  principalities  of  the  Brunswick 
lands  .  .  .  might  be  one  and  alike  in  religion."72  The  duke 
wanted  uniformity  of  law  as  well  as  of  religion  in  his  lands  and  in 
1585  he  appointed  a  commission  to  consider  how  one  system  of 
laws  might  replace  the  existing  confusion  of  the  imperial  and  the 
Saxon  codes.  The  financial  problem  was  Julius'  greatest  difficulty 
in  his  new  territory  but  the  estates  finally  agreed  to  renew  the  old 
taxes  and  to  increase  them  if  necessary  in  order  to  wipe  out  the 
debts  of  the  country.73  The  nobles  made  so  much  trouble  about 
their  mortgages  that  some  cases  were  brought  before  the  imperial 
court,  but  finally  Julius  succeeded  in  this  last  most  difficult  task, 
and  at  his  death  left  his  lands  free  of  debt  and  with  a  surplus  in 
the  treasury.74 

Julius  was  too  good  a  housekeeper  to  take  an  active  share  in 
affairs  outside  his  own  dominions.  He  had  little  interest  in  the 
politics  of  the  Empire  and  played  no  part  in  solving  the  great 
international  problems  of  his  age.  As  a  rule  any  correspondence 
with  people  outside  his  dominions  meant  that  he  desired  a  new 
market  for  his  mine  products.  A  narrow  interest  in  religious 
matters  could  sometimes  be  aroused,  but  the  duke's  sympathy 
included  only  Lutherans.  Like  his  father,  Julius  was  devoted  to 
his  imperial  masters  and  felt  that  the  welfare  of  Germany  was  one 
with  the  welfare  of  the  emperor.  In  his  will  (1582),  a  lengthy 
document  of  instruction  for  his  heir  Henry  Julius,  Julius  exhorted 

7t  Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  1060. 

73  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  435. 

74  Soon  after  the  death  of  Julius  the  Grubenhagen  division  of  the  Bruns- 
wick lands  was  also  added  to  the  holdings  of  the  Wolfenbiittel  line.    This  line 
also  fell  heir  to  the  territory  of  several  counts  and  absorbed  various  secular- 
ized bishoprics.    Ibid.,  II,  471. 


90  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

his  son  to  remain  faithful  to  the  house  of  Austria,  and  reminded 
him  of  the  evils  which  befell  Henry  the  Lion  through  his  quarrel 
with  Barbarossa.75  The  friendship  between  Julius  and  Maximil- 
ian II  (1564-1576)  began  when  the  former  was  in  Vienna,  driven 
from  Brunswick  by  his  quarrels  with  his  father.76  An  inter- 
esting correspondence  between  Julius  and  Maximilian's  coun- 
cillor Lazarus  von  Schwende  has  been  preserved.  These  letters 
reveal  the  warm  friendship  which  existed  between  the  duke 
and  the  statesman.  Sometimes  they  were  concerned  with 
business,  for  Henry  the  Younger  had  given  von  Schwende  shares 
in  the  Harz  mines.  Von  Schwende  always  commented  on  the 
great  political  issues  of  the  day,  the  Turks,  the  Armada  or  the 
religious  difficulties  in  France.  Julius  was  less  interested  in  these 
matters,  and  like  most  other  German  princes  of  his  time,  showed  a 
fatal  apathy  towards  constitutional  questions.  Every  Protes- 
tant ruler  should  have  been  keenly  alive  to  the  struggles  of  the 
Dutch  against  Spain,  and  of  the  Huguenots  for  freedom  of  con- 
science, but  Julius  had  no  sympathy  with  Protestants  who  were 
not  Lutherans.  After  the  massacre  of  Saint  Bartholemew  the 
Landgrave  William  of  Hesse  proposed  an  offensive  and  protective 
union  of  all  Protestant  German  princes.  Julius  refused  to  join 
because  some  members  of  such  a  league  would  not  accept  the 
Augsburg  Confession.77  Even  after  the  conquest  of  Antwerp  by 
the  Spaniards  Julius  declined  to  listen  to  a  second  similar  proposal. 
The  project  of  an  alliance  between  French,  English  and  German 
Protestants  was  under  frequent  discussion.  In  1577  Elizabeth 
of  England  sent  Robert  Bell  to  confer  with  Julius  on  this  subject. 
After  consulting  his  adviser,  Martin  Chemnitz,  Julius  decided 
that  he  could  not  recognize  non-Lutherans  as  religious  brothers. 
In  the  same  year  he  decided  not  to  join  a  union  of  Germany  and 
France  against  Spain  on  the  ground  that  it  would  be  "not  so  much 
in  the  religious  cause  and  against  papists  as  against  the  Spanish 
king  and  his  possessions  in  the  Netherlands."78  Julius,  like  most 
German  princes,  failed  to  understand  the  menace  of  the  Catholic 

76  Rehtmeier,  op.  tit.,  1039. 

76  Bodeman,  Herzog  Julius  von  Braunschweig  als  deutscher  Reichsfiirst. 
5, 18,  63,  76. 

77  Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  428. 

78  Bodemann,  Herzog  Julius,  etc.,  28,  31,  34. 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK- WOLFENBUTTEL  91 

reaction.  His  father's  career  had  taught  him  that  when  a  prince  of 
Brunswick  became  involved  in  European  politics  his  duchy 
suffered.  He  maintained  his  policy  of  peace  at  any  price,  but  in 
so  doing  renounced  the  opportunity  of  playing  his  part  as  a  prince 
of  the  Empire  in  solving  the  problems  of  the  day.  Julius'  short- 
sighted selfish  policy  was  characteristic  of  the  men  of  his  class 
and  period.  The  next  generation  paid  the  penalty  of  such  particu- 
larism in  the  horrors  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  In  this  connection, 
Hassebrauk  writes:  "While  to  the  west,  the  world  was  in  flames, 
Germany  lay  in  deepest  peace  for  generations.  But  it  was  not  a 
healthy  blessed  peace.  Germany,  religious,  political  and  social 
was  sunk  in  Philistine  pettiness,  and  the  proud  name  of  German 
liberty  served  only  to  cloak  hateful  particularism."79  Had  Ger- 
many profited  from  the  experience  of  the  French  and  of  the  Dutch 
she  might  have  been  saved  the  disaster  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 

A  period  of  reaction  followed  the  Peace  of  Augsburg.  The 
enthusiasm  of  fighting  for  religious  ideals  and  incidental  economic 
and  political  betterment  had  spent  itself.  The  princes  were 
weary,  their  interests  were  not  those  of  the  Empire  but  of  their 
own  lands.  It  was  not  a  time  of  brilliant  international  achieve- 
ment for  Germany,  but  one  of  prosperity  for  most  of  the  German 
states.  It  produced  a  generation  of  enlightened,  educated  rulers, 
intent  on  furthering  the  well-being  of  their  own  lands.  Conse- 
quently the  history  of  the  late  sixteenth  century  is  to  be  found 
not  in  the  acts  of  the  Diet  nor  in  the  decisions  of  the  imperial 
court,  but  in  the  development  of  the  individual  states.  Only  the 
externals  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  remained. 

In  his  preoccupation  with  the  concerns  of  his  own  lands  Julius 
may  illustrate  the  type  produced  by  his  period.  He  was 
interested  not  only  in  increasing  the  material  prosperity  of  his 
land  and  people,  but  in  developing  their  higher  life.  Hardly  a 
scholar  himself,  he  spared  no  pains  in  gathering  a  group  of  the 
most  learned  men  of  the  time  at  his  university  at  Helmstedt,  while 
the  library  at  Wolfenbuttel  was  his  pride  and  delight.  Julius' 
interest  in  chemistry  was  nevertiring,  yet  the  limits  to  his  science 
may  be  seen  in  his  investigations  in  alchemy.80 

79  Bodemann,  Herzog  Julius,  etc.,  48. 

80  The  Sommering  affair  shows  how  his  greed  got  the  better  of  his  judg- 
ment.   For  three  years  this  charlatan  and  his  followers  imposed  on  Julius 
who  believed  that  they  could  make  gold  from  baser  metals,  had  discovered 


92  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,   1514-1589 

Julius'  exclusive  interest  in  his  own  lands  developed  in  him 
a  paternalism  which  was  almost  patriarchal.  He  had  the  point  of 
view  of  the  most  enlightened  men  of  his  time  and  regarded  his 
subjects  as  incapable  of  initiative.  No  detail  connected  with  the 
court  expenditure,  the  mines  or  with  any  activity  of  his  people 
was  too  trivial  to  engage  the  ruler's  attention.  He  issued  an  edict 
directing  what  sights  should  be  shown  to  strangers  in  Wolfen- 
biittel  (1578),81  another  exhorted  kind-hearted  people  to  donate 
money  and  corn  to  those  whose  crops  had  been  destroyed  by 
hail,  while  ordinances  directing  precautions  against  fire  were 
frequently  issued.  Subjects  of  Julius  were  forbidden  to  go  into 
military  service  with  other  lords  (1585),  and  employers  and 
gilds  were  instructed  to  give  every  artisan  who  left  them  a  written 
recommendation  or  explanation.82  The  duke  guarded  the  welfare 
of  his  subjects  as  if  they  had  been  children;  but  though  ready  to 
hear  the  troubles  and  complaints  of  his  humblest  subject,  Julius 
never  allowed  the  chasm  which  separated  prince  from  underling 
to  be  forgotten.  The  duke  had  a  tremendous  capacity  for 
work  himself  and  demanded  long  hours  of  conscientious  service 
from  his  employes.  It  was  his  custom  to  write  until  ten  or  eleven 
o'clock  at  night,83  and  his  councillors  were  expected  to  be  on 
duty  at  six  in  the  morning  in  summer,  and  at  seven  in  winter. 
It  was  entirely  in  character  that  Julius  should  not  care  for  the 
chase  which  had  been  his  father's  greatest  pleasure.  Though  the 
son  occasionally  hunted  he  never  allowed  the  sport  to  increase  the 
burdens  of  his  subjects.  He  used  to  say  that  he  wished  that  more 
intelligent  people  and  fewer  wild  animals  dwelt  in  his  lands. 

Julius  was  parsimonious  in  the  administration  of  his  court  and 
the  management  of  his  children,  yet  when  expenditure  would 
redound  to  his  credit  or  profit  he  was  free  enough.  His  palace, 

the  secret  of  eternal  youth,  and  knew  of  marvellous  devices  to  make  mining 
profitable.  This  credulity  was  shared  by  most  princes  of  the  time,  but  the 
experience  rendered  the  duke  of  Brunswick  suspicions  of  later  offers  to  effect 
miraculous  cures.  See  Algermann,  op.  cit.}  200. 

81  Small,  op.  cit.,  5;  H.Z.,  1889,  246. 

82  Braunschweig  Hofgerichtsordnung.,  52,  54,  55,  50. 

83  Algermann,  op.  cit.,  183,  233.    Many  of  Julius'  memoranda  in  a  par- 
ticularly illegible  hand,  have  been  preserved.    He  carried  on  a  varied  corre- 
spondence, usually  dictating  to  a  secretary  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
time.    Z.K.G.,  1875,  232. 


JULIUS,  DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL  93 

his  university,  his  jewels  and  furs  show  this  phase  of  his  nature. 
In  his  will,  a  characteristic  document,  Julius  exhorted  his  heir, 
Henry  Julius,  to  husband  his  accumulated  treasure  of  700,000 
thalers.84 

Algermann  paints  a  pleasant  picture  of  Julius'  peaceful  old 
age.85  In  summer  it  was  his  custom  to  sit  with  his  family  and 
friends  on  a  balcony  of  the  palace  which  commanded  a  view  of 
all  traffic  to  and  from  the  stables,  brewery  and  bakehouse.  From 
this  vantage  point,  surrounded  with  song  birds,  the  prince  passed 
his  time  at  chess  or  in  conversation,  observing  meanwhile  the 
activities  of  his  household.  These  last  peaceful  days  were  char- 
acteristic of  Julius'  whole  life,  which  forms  a  striking  contrast 
with  that  of  his  father,  and  shows  what  changes  a  generation 
could  bring  in  the  Germany  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  reign  of  Julius  marks  a  peaceful  lull  between  the  religious 
wars  of  the  sixteenth  and  those  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
terms  of  the  Peace  of  Augsburg  had  fostered  particularism  rather 
than  a  common  national  endeavor,  and  it  was  as  a  true  child  of  his 
age  that  Julius  thought  first  of  Brunswick  and  rarely  of  the 
Empire.  To  administer  his  inheritance  wisely  and  to  develop  its 
every  resource  was  first  and  last  thought.  His  motto :  Aliis  inser- 
viendo  consumer,  was  as  appropriate  as  that  of  Henry,  and  Julius 
did,  in  truth  live  up  to  it.  This  aim  developed  the  pronounced 
paternalism  in  which  the  welfare  of  his  subjects  was  dear  to  the 
prince,  but  in  which  he,  not  they,  judged  what  should  further  this 
welfare. 

84  Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  1039  ff.  This  will,  written  in  1582  when  Julius 
feared  the  plague,  is  a  voluminous  document  directing  the  actions  of  the  heir 
in  every  possible  contingency. 

86  Op.  cit.,  89. 


CHAPTER  VI 

LIFE  IN  THE  MINE  TOWNS 

Like  the  typical  chronicler  of  the  Middle  Ages  Hake  shows  a 
keen  interest  in  the  unusual  and  supernatural.  In  spite  of  this 
emphasis  on  the  extraordinary,  he  presents  a  reasonably  com- 
plete picture  of  the  daily  events  in  these  Harz  mining  towns, 
and  reveals  not  only  his  own,  but  the  general  attitude  towards 
life.  A  native  of  the  Harz,  Hake  was  made  pastor  at  Wildemann 
in  1572,  four  years  after  the  death  of  Henry  the  Younger.1  As  his 
chronicle  covers  the  years  from  1505  to  1583,  his  testimony  about 
places  and  people  was  often  that  of  an  eye  witness  of  the  events 
described. 

These  communities,  Grund,  Wildemann  and  Zellerfeld  owed 
their  existence  to  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  neighborhood.  The 
district  was  hilly  and  heavily  wooded.  Zeiller's  Topographic 
published  a  hundred  years  after  this  period  shows  in  its  beautiful 
copper  plates,  these  hamlets  quite  surrounded  with  forests,  with 
but  few  clearings  for  farming.  That  the  need  of  more  extensive 
agriculture  was  felt  is  proved  by  the  offer  made  in  1553,  of  freedom 
from  feudal  or  court  service  for  any  one  who  would  cultivate  the 
land  or  make  a  garden.  Cattle,  sheep,  pigs  and  geese  were  valued 
assets  of  the  villagers,  but  breadstuffs  were  imported,  probably 
from  Henry's  more  fertile  lands  to  the  north  in  lower  Saxony. 
So  anxious  was  the  duke  to  provide  supplies  for  the  miners  that 
he  arranged  for  weekly  markets  to  which  any  one  might  bring, 
free  of  taxes,  "all  things  needful  to  the  mine  people."2  The  miners 
brewed  their  own  beer,  ground  corn  in  their  own  mills,3  and 
might  sell  imported  liquor  free  of  excise.  Water  was  abundant 
in  these  mountains,  and  was  piped  through  the  towns  early  in 
their  history.  The  warm  springs  had  the  reputation  of  being 
medicinal  and  very  likely  it  was  this  water  which  was  used  in 
the  frequently  mentioned  public  baths.4 

1  Giinther,  Die  Grundung  der  Bergstadt  Grund,  etc.    H.Z.,  1906,  43. 
8  Bergfreiheit  of  1532,  1556.    H.  Z.,  1906,  294  ff. 

3  Hake,  Bergchronik,  52,  43:  53,  17:  56,  30,  etc. 

4  Ibid.,  46,  16. 

94 


LIFE  IN  THE  MINE  TOWNS  95 

These  communities  were  essentially  law  abiding;  they  had 
no  love  of  fighting  and  were  not  only  disturbed  but  bored  when 
their  towns  lay  in  the  path  of  any  of  Henry's  numerous  wars. 
The  city  of  Goslar,  Count  Mansfeld  or  other  enemies  of  the  duke 
frequently  made  these  inoffensive  artisans  the  object  of  attack. 
In  administering  internal  affairs  Grund,  Wildemann  and  Zeller- 
feld  seem  to  have  held  pretty  consistently  to  their  own  standard 
of  justice,  for  even  during  the  years  when  the  Schmalkald  leaders 
ruled  Henry's  land,  they  were  allowed,  after  a  protest,  to  follow 
their  own  customs.  The  judge,  one  of  their  chief  officials,  was 
assisted  by  a  jury  in  the  rigorous  punishment  of  wrong-doers. 
Petty  offenses  were  disposed  of  locally,  but  the  duke  had  jurisdic- 
tion in  criminal  cases,  and  frequently  in  others.5  Punishments, 
even  in  times  of  peace,  often  were  severe  out  of  proportion  to  the 
crime.  An  instance  of  this  is  the  case  of  the  manager  who,  having 
failed  in  trying  to  drain  a  mine  of  water,  was  imprisoned  in  Henry's 
castle  for  eight  days,  and  deprived  of  his  office.6  Murder  was 
punished  by  death,  yet  there  were  exceptions  to  the  strict  enforce- 
ment of  the  law.  An  instance  is  the  case  of  Nickel  Dorman,  who 
having  killed  a  comrade,  was  released  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  a 
young  girl.7  On  one  occasion  when  two  murderers  succeeded  in 
making  their  escape,  Hake  comments:  "Though  they  may 
have  escaped  punishment  in  this  world,  they  will  not  be  able  to 
avoid  that  of  the  last  day."  Cases  are  recorded  where  the  indivi- 
dual rebelled  at  the  decisions  of  the  court.  At  one  time  a  miner 
shot  and  wounded  the  judge  who  had  condemned  him,  and  because 
he  had  "striven  wilfully  against  a  magistrate,"  the  militant  lost 
his  head.  Again,  the  murderer  was  freed  because  his  victim  "had 
given  him  cause."8 

The  district  was  not  free  from  labor  troubles.  An 
instance  is  related  of  three  miners,  who,  having  caused  an 
uproar  because  they  were  dissatisfied  with  their  pay,  were  taken 
as  prisoners  to  Wolfenbiittel  and  released  only  on  the  intercession 
of  friends.  When  in  1565  the  miners  wanted  new  contracts,  "so 
that  they  might  clothe  themselves,"  and  complained  that  the 
officials  were  unfair  to  them,  the  head  of  the  mine  responded  by 

•Hake,  Bergchronik,  51,  1;  H.  Z.,  1906,  299. 
•  Hake,  Bergchronik,  43,  9;  95,  21. 

7  Ibid.,  64,  8;  56,  17. 

8  Ibid.,  58,  10;  62,  9. 


96  THE  MINES  IN  THE  UPPER  HARZ,   1514-1589 

raising  their  pay  and  giving  them  better  terms.9  In  1555 
the  dissensions  between  the  owners  of  the  smelting-houses  con- 
nected with  the  Goslar  mines  and  their  employes  took  on  so  serious 
an  aspect  that  Duke  Henry  was  forced  to  interfere,  and  decreed 
that  laborers  must  be  engaged  for  a  certain  time  at  a  specified 
price.  Any  smelterer  breaking  his  contract  was  liable  to  a  fine  of 
fifty  thalers,  and  no  owner  of  a  smelting-house  could  raise  or  lower 
wages  without  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  all  the  other  pro- 
prietors of  such  houses.  Objection  to  the  duke's  jurisdiction  was 
made  on  the  ground  that  citizens  of  Goslar  were  amenable  only 
to  the  laws  of  the  council  of  that  free  city,  but  in  this  case  duke 
and  council  worked  together  for  the  general  peace  (1555).10  An 
incident  which  shows  that  business  principles  were  well  established 
in  these  communities  is  that  of  the  tithe  collector  who  had  sold 
Hans  Wolff  sixteen  florins  worth  of  lead  on  the  security  of  his 
house.  The  account  being  unsettled,  the  creditor  appealed  to 
the  chief  officials  and  was  allowed  to  foreclose  on  the  miner's 
house.11 

Among  the  people  attracted  to  the  Harz  by  Duke  Henry's 
inducements  were  some  who  lived  evil  lives.  Evidently  adultery 
was  no  new  problem  for  a  mining  town,  but  in  1539  Wolf  Seitel,  the 
superintendent  of  the  mines,  instead  of  protecting  such  deeds 
brought  the  offenders  to  justice.  All  the  culprits  suffered,  the 
women  being  subjected  to  the  torture  of  walking  over  sharp 
stones,  while  the  men  were  fined  or  imprisoned.12  An  interesting 
case  of  the  legal  enforcement  of  a  man's  promise  to  marry  is  that 
of  Christoph  Stoll,  who  seemed  on  the  point  of  jilting  a  girl  in 
Regensburg  when  the  authorities  intervened  and  held  him  to  his 
word.13 

The  whole  spirit  of  the  district  seems  to  have  been  against  the 
employment  of  men  from  other  localities.  When  such  came  seek- 
ing work  which  it  was  not  convenient  to  give,  instead  of  turning 
them  bluntly  away  the  authorities  directed  them  to  a  shaft 
called  "The  Glutton"  where  the  ore  was'  so  poor  that  after  a 
man  had  worked  a  shift  "had  the  ore  he  won  been  bread  it  would 

9  Hake,  Bergchronik,  76,  10  ff. 

10  Ibid.,  62,  30. 

11  Ibid.,  60,  22. 
u  Ibid.,  46,  12. 
13  Ibid.,  52,  6. 


LIFE  IN  THE  MINE  TOWNS  97 

not  have  been  enough  to  satisfy  him."  The  plan  was  successful 
for  most  of  the  men  on  whom  this  experiment  was  tried  worked 
only  one  shift,  others  hardly  half  that  time  before  going  on  their 
way.14 

These  groups  of  hard  working  men  and  women  were  not  without 
an  interest  in  the  higher  life.  As  has  been  seen  they  were  keenly 
Lutheran;  they  were  also  ambitious  that  their  children  should 
receive  some  sort  of  education,  and  the  schoolmaster's  place 
seems  to  have  equalled  in  importance  that  of  any  other  official. 
In  one  instance  the  teacher  at  Zellerfeld  came  from  Bremen;  in 
another  the  chronicler  speaks  of  the  schoolmaster  as  "a  well 
taught  fellow."15  In  1555  Jacob  Berward  held  the  office  of  town 
clerk  and  was  at  the  same  time  teacher  of  the  children  at  Zeller- 
feld. He  was  also  a  musician  and  introduced  the  part  song,  a 
novelty  in  the  district.  Two  years  later  the  same  man  played  the 
comedy  of  King  Ahasuerus  and  Esther  with  the  burghers'  chil- 
dren, and  later  dramatized  the  story  of  the  Ten  Virgins.  There 
seems  to  have  been  a  good  deal  of  the  love  of  music  among  these 
people.  More  than  once  the  schoolmaster  is  spoken  of  as  being  a 
good  musician,  and  an  organ  was  an  important  possession.  The 
first  one  was  set  up  in  Zellerfeld  in  1564;  it  cost  thirty  thalers  and 
the  organist  came  from  Goslar.  Not  to  be  outdone,  the  people  of 
Wildemann  put  a  more  costly  organ  in  their  church  the  next  year. 
With  prosperity  the  miners  grew  ambitious,  for  in  1569,  after  a 
fire,  another  organ  was  installed  at  Zellerfeld  at  a  cost  of  160 
thalers.16 

Shooting  was  a  favorite  sport.  Contests  were  frequently  held 
in  the  mine  towns  during  the  reign  of  Julius  and  these  the  prince 
encouraged  by  offering  prizes.17 

A  visit  from  the  duke  was  naturally  an  occasion  for  celebration. 
Once,  with  his  wife,  Henry  spent  the  night  at  Zellerfeld.  After 
the  customary  gifts  of  beer  and  wine,  not  only  the  elders  but 
children  turned  out  to  do  honor  to  the  rulers.  A  company  of 
boys  armed  with  wootfen  swords  and  carrying  as  a  standard  a 
piece  of  leather  attached  to  a  pole  marched  over  from  Wildemann. 
The  children  of  Zellerfeld  were  similarly  armed  and  a  mock  battle 

14  Hake,  Bergchronik,  45,  10. 
"Ibid.,  57,  25;  62,  14. 
"Ibid.,  75,  15;  76,25;  86,3. 
17  Ibid.,  46,  16;  111,40. 


98  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

in  the  market  place  ensued.  Presently  the  fun  threatened  to 
become  serious.  The  wooden  swords  drew  blood,  and  "almost 
some  remained  dead,"  when  the  duke,  thinking  the  sport  had 
gone  far  enough,  called  from  the  window  where  he  stood,  to  have 
the  young  fighters  separated.18 

This  is  only  one  of  many  stories  related  by  Hake,  which  illus- 
trate the  friendly  relations  existing  between  the  duke  and  his 
people.  Of  course  the  ruler  is  always  spoken  of  with  the  respectful 
circumlocution  of  the  period.  This  is  purely  ceremonial;  the 
truth  seems  to  be  that  there  was  nothing  of  servility  in  the  miners' 
attitude.  They  were  an  independent,  self-respecting  class,  able 
and  prompt  to  stand  up  for  their  rights.  Henry  often  came  to 
the  mines  while  he  was  staying  at  his  castle  in  the  neighborhood.19 
Early  one  morning  in  1556  Henry  rode  over  unannounced  to 
Wildemann  for  an  inspection  and  found  the  tithe  collector  Hans 
Hansen  "still  sleeping  in  the  feathers."  Receiving  no  answer  to 
his  calls,  the  duke  rode  on  to  the  mines,  leaving  word  for  the  official 
to  follow  him.  Meanwhile  the  children  gathered  in  the  little 
^  streets  and  mustered  courage  to  greet  their  lord.  Henry  was 
gracious  to  them,  but  to  one  of  his  companions  he  remarked: 
"The  children  receive  us,  we  should  like  to  see  the  elders  do  as 
much."  When  the  poor  collector  finally  overtook  the  ducal 
party,  he  was  forced  to  admit  that  he  had  been  drinking  the  night 
before.  The  incident  was  closed  with  a  reprimand.20 

When  Henry  and  his  second  wife,  Sophia  of  Poland,  visited 
Wildemann  in  1563,  they  found  the  miners  drawn  up  in  ranks 
awaiting  -their  arrival.  When  the  duke  spoke  to  them,  they 
closed  in  a  circle  around  their  lord  who  talked  as  a  father  might 
to  obedient  children.  They  had  chosen  Hans  Siefert  for  their 
spokesman  "because  he  had  often  followed  the  duke  to  war  and 
knew  with  what  modesty  and  reverence  one  answers  high  poten- 
tates, princes  and  lords."  But  in  spite  of  this  training  the  poor 
fellow  misspoke  himself  and  was  covered  with  confusion,  while 

18  Hake,  Bergchronik,  71. 

19  It  was  at  this  castle  of  Stauffenberg  that  his  mistress  Eva  von  Trott 
lived  from  1532  until  1542  when  Henry  had  her  removed  to  the  more  secure 
castle  of  Liebenburg.    Heinemann,  op.  cit.,  II,  356,  359. 

20  Hake,  Bergchronik,  64,  1 1  ff .    This  anecdote,  and  several  others  bor- 
rowed from  Hake,  are  published,  in  the  Neues  Vaterlandische,  Archiv  des 
Konigreichs  Hannover,  1829.    Their  source  is  not  given. 


LIFE  IN  THE  MINE  TOWNS  99 

the  miners  were  indignant  that  the  ceremony  had  been  ruined. 
The  day  was  saved  by  Henry,  who  came  to  the  rescue  with  a 
gracious  speech. 

About  the  same  time  (1562)  the  people  of  Grund  fell  into  dis- 
grace with  their  lord.  Henry,  was  so  incensed  at  their  shooting  big 
game  that  he  had  determined  to  take  their  privileges  from  them. 
The  offense  was  especially  flagrant  because  in  1559  he  had  issued 
a  strict  edict  forbidding  any  but  the  nobility  to  kill  even  small 
game.21  In  anguish  of  spirit,  the  judge,  jury  and  commons  of 
Grund  begged  their  neighbors  in  Wildemann  in  the  name  of  their 
common  flag  to  help  preserve  the  precious  charter.  Through 
the  good  offices  of  the  master  of  the  mines  the  duke  finally  made 
peace  with  these  subjects  who  had  so  impertinently  invaded  his 
prerogative.  It  was  in  cases  such  as,  this,  where  his  people  had 
overstepped  their  rights  or  been  unfaithful  or  inefficient  in  official 
duty  that  the  sternness  of  Henry  made  itself  felt.  Such  was  the 
case  of  the  manager  already  referred  to,  who  boasted  that  with  his 
newly  installed  machine  he  could  drain  the  mine  "even  if  the 
whole  mountain  were  full  of  water."  His  failure,  or  perhaps  his 
boldness,  was  punished  by  an  imprisonment  of  eight  days  and  the 
loss  of  his  office.  An  instance  is  recorded  in  which  for  some 
unknown  reason  Henry  was  displeased  with  the  superinten- 
dent of  his  mines.  One  day  the  two  enemies  chanced  to 
meet  and  the  duke  would  have  killed  his  employe  had  not  the 
chancellor  come  between  and  so  allowed  the  offender  to  escape. 
This  seems  to  have  been  exceptional,  for  as  a  rule  the  duke  was  on 
very  friendly  terms  with  his  officials.22  On  one  occasion  he  wrote 
an  autograph  letter  to  the  tithe  collector,  Christoph  Sander  of 
Goslar,  thanking  him  for  his  industry  and  recognizing  that  the 
prosperity  of  the  Goslar  mines  was  due  to  Sander's  good  adminis- 
tration. The  case  of  Peter  Adener  will  be  remembered.  He  was 
summoned  to  Gandersheim  to  give  his  opinion  on  possible 
improvements  to  the  mines.  With  perfect  confidence  and  self- 
respect,  and  without  servility  the  miner  gave  his  expert  advice 
and  even  corrected  the  duke  concerning  the  way  in  which  the 
plans  should  be  carried  out.23 

u  Braunschweig  Hofgerichlsordnung,  33. 
52  Hake,  Bergchronik,  44,  17;  75,  19. 
"Ibid.,  61,  8. 


100  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,   1514-1589 

Nevertheless,  the  lord  required  that  his  superior  power  be 
recognized.  Once,  hearing  that  his  inspector,  Franz  Preuss,  was 
ill  of  the  plague,  Henry  rode  to  his  house,  opened  the  window  and 
sticking  his  head  in,  said,  "My  Preuss,  how  are  you?"  The  dying 
man  answered,  "Not  too  near,  my  lord,  not  too  near,  I  have  the 
plague,"  and  indicated  that  he  was  beyond  ducal  help.  This 
frankness,  even  from  a  man  in  extremity,  angered  the  noble 
visitor,  who  admitted  no  limits  to  his  power. 

In  spite  of  Julius'  great  interest  in  the  mines  Hake  records 
no  visit  of  inspection.  During  the  years  between  1583  when 
the  chronicle  ends,  and  1589  the  year  of  the  duke's  death  he 
may  have  visited  the  Harz  district. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  RELATION  OF  THE  HARZ  MINES  TO  TRADE  AND 
TRADE  ROUTES 

Henry  the  Younger  came  into  his  inheritance  five  years  before 
Charles  V  was  elected  emperor.  What  strength  still  remained 
to  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  was  to  be  found  in  its  members,  not 
in  the  central  government.  The  cities  were  the  scenes  of  the 
greatest  activity  and  expressed  their  vigor  and  life  in  their  com- 
merce which,  while  keeping  to  the  old  routes,  reached  out  for  new 
ones.  There  were  German  factories  in  Antwerp  and  German 
ships  went  to  India  (1505).  This  widespread  trade  made  possible 
the  great  undertakings  for  which  large  capital  was  necessary.1 
The  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  was  a  time  of  general  prosperity 
when  all  classes  expected  to  maintain  a  high  standard  of  living. 
The  galleons  loaded  with  precious  metal  from  America  began  to 
sail  into  European  ports  and  the  price  of  metal  sank  while  that 
of  commodities  rose.  By  1550  the  value  of  metal  was  cut  in  half. 
In  Brunswick  the  price  of  food  did  not  increase  appreciably  before 
that  time  and  the  real  effects  of  the  low  price  of  metal  were  not 
felt  until  the  use  of  the  overland  trade  routes  began  to  fall  off.1 
In  spite  of  the  discovery  of  the  sea  route  to  India  a  flourishing 
trade  in  eastern  goods  still  passed  over  the  Alps  from  Venice.3 
Generally  speaking,  the  great  trade  routes  of  Germany  followed 
an  east  and  west  or  a  north  and  south  direction.  They  were 
dependent  on  topography,  following  the  navigable  rivers  or  river 
valleys  and  using  the  lowest  passes  across  hills  and  mountains. 
In  the  sixteenth  century,  because  of  the  heavy  tolls,  the  rivers 
were  less  used  than  formerly  and  the  princes  made  constant 
efforts  to  render  safe  the  increasing  travel  by  road.4  The  Harz 

1  Kaser,  Deutsche  Geschichte  im  Ausgange  des  Mittelalters,  436. 

1  Von  Billow,  Beitriige  zur  Geschichte  der  Braunschweig-Liineburgschen 
Lande,  163. 

»  Kretschmer,  Historische  Geographic,  504,  505. 

4  A  complaint  against  a  proposed  general  imperial  customs  tax,  presented 
to  the  Diet  by  the  German  cities  as  early  as  1523,  protested  against  the  cus- 
toms already  exacted  by  the  Empire  of  all  merchants  and  dealers.  They 
foresaw,  that  to  avoid  the  heavy  taxes,  foreign  merchants  would  go  to 

101 


, 

102  \iri£  &IKES  d£  TBPETUPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 


offered  an  obstruction  to  these  trade  routes  which  divided  and 
went  around  the  mountains.  Those  which  passed  through 
Hildesheim  and  Gandersheim  connecting  Augsburg,  Nuremberg 
and  Frankfort  with  such  great  trading  cities  of  the  north  as 
Bremen  and  Hamburg,  skirted  the  Harz  on  the  west.5  The  road 
through  Thiiringia  (Thuringerstrasse)  met  the  one  from  Nurem- 
berg (Number  gerslrasse  or  Augsbur  gerslrasse)  at  Osterode  west 
of  the  Harz.6  At  Seesen  a  few  miles  north,  this  road  united 
with  that  which  came  from  Frankfort,  by  way  of  Gottingen  and 
Northeim.  The  direct  route  from  Nuremberg  continued  from 
Nordhausen  following  the  eastern  line  of  the  Harz  and  passing 
through  Brunswick  to  Hamburg  and  Bremen.  The  great  east 
and  west  road  which  connected  Leipzig,  Halle  and  Magdeburg 
with  Cologne  on  the  Rhine  lay  north  of  the  Harz  and  passed 
through  Brunswick  and  Hildesheim.  Brunswick  was  particularly 
important  because  of  its  location  where  the  Oker  ceased  to  be 
navigable.  At  that  point  the  river  divided  and  so  could  be  easily 
bridged.  The  city  because  of  its  location  at  the  cross  roads,  had 
been  of  commercial  importance  since  the  eleventh  century.7 
Hildesheim  occupied  a  similar  position,  for  the  north  and  south 
road,  which  skirted  the  western  border  of  the  Harz,  passed  through 
it  to  Hanover.  In  the  sixteenth  century  an  important  military 
road  also  ran  from  Magdeburg  through  Wolfenbiittel  to  Hildes- 
heim.8 But  the  trade  went  through  Hildesheim  and  Brunswick 
and  Duke  Julius  tried  in  vain  to  make  his  capital  an  important 
commercial  center.  Goslar  lay  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
Harz.  Aside  from  its  prestige  as  the  capital  of  the  Saxon  line, 
this  city  owed  its  importance  solely  to  its  mines  and  smelting- 
houses.9  It  was  a  member  of  the  Hanse  and  in  closest  association 
with  the  North  Sea  cities.  While  not  on  a  main  thoroughfare  it 


England  and  the  Netherlands  by  routes  which  would  take  them  around 
Germany.  Reichstagakten,  III,  J.  R.  641,  642,  643,  644.  Julius'  interest  in 
canals  may  be  interpreted  as  an  attempt  to  make  German  cities  profit  by  the 
new  sea  routes. 

6  Gunther,  Der  Harz,  126. 

6  Gunther,  Die  Besiedelung,  etc.,  H.  Z.,  1884,  3. 

7  Meyer,  Untersuchungen,  etc.,  Jb.  G.  V.  B.,  1902,  3. 

8  Schmidt,  Der  Einfiuss  der  alien  Handelswege  in  Niedersachsen,  Z.  N.  S. 
1896,  493;  Meyer,  op.  cil.,  4. 

9  Neuburg,  Z.  f iir  Staatswissenschaft,  40,  90. 


RELATION  OF  THE  HARZ  MINES  TO  TRADE  AND  TRADE  ROUTES    103 

lay  in  the  midst  of  a  network  of  roads  and  was  only  a  few  miles 
from  the  great  trade  arteries.  One  of  these  was  tapped  at  Oste- 
rode  by  a  road  running  west  from  Goslar.  This  was  the  only  road 
in  the  Upper  Harz  to  offer  the  hospitality  and  protection  of  a 
monastery  to  travelers.  Celle  was  founded  near  the  site  of 
the  later  town  of  Zellerfeld  in  the  twelfth  century,  a  time 
of  great  prosperity  for  the  trade  of  Goslar.10  The  "old  road" 
later  called  the  "Halberstadt  military  road,"  led  east  from  Goslar 
to  Halberstadt  and  made  possible  a  lively  trade  in  mine  products.11 
This  connection  was  essential  for  those  merchants  of  Goslar 
who  had  trade  relations  with  the  great  cities  of  south  Germany. 
A  military  road  also  connected  Goslar  with  Hildesheim.12  The 
most  important  road  through  the  Harz  was  the  Kaiserweg  which 
connected  Harzburg  with  Nordhausen,  traversing  the  entire 
district  from  north  to  south.13  It  also  connected  with  Goslar  and 
Oker  by  a  branch,  the  Eiserne  Weg,  whose  name  probably 
indicates  the  nature  of  the  wares  transported  over  it.  It  was 
in  such  bad  condition  in  the  sixteenth  century  that  Julius  of 
Brunswick- Wolfenblittel  in  1571  ordered  that  "the  old  road  over 
the  Harz  to  Andreasburg,  Ellrich  and  Nordhausen"  be  made 
passable  again,  "for  it  is  several  days'  journey  nearer  the  lands 
of  Meissen  and  Franconia  than  if  one  went  around  the  Harz."14 
It  was  an  essential  part  of  Julius'  policy  to  build  bridges  and 

10  Giinther,  Der  Harz,  128. 

11  Fischer,  Alien  Strassen  und  Wege,  etc.,  H.  Z.,  1911,  178. 

12  An  interesting  itinerary  (Itinerarrolle)  dating  from  about  1520  has 
been  preserved.     It  gives  the  mileage  between  all  the  chief  cities  on  the 
European  trade  routes.     An  indication  of  the  relative  importance,  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  of  the  trade  between  east  and  west,  and  that  between 
north  and  south,  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  almost  all  the  distances  given  in  this 
itinerary  are  on  north  and  south  lines.    H.  G.  B.,  1908,  168.    Road  maps  were 
common  after  1550. 

13  The  exact  line  of  this  road  is  not  known.  H.  Z.,  1911,  198.  The 
source  references  call  it,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  the  Heidensteig.  Giinther 
suggests,  Der  Harz,  129,  that  it  may  have  existed  before  the  Saxons  were 
converted.  It  was  rebuilt  in  the  eighteenth  century  and  formed  a  connecting 
link  between  Bremen  and  Leipzig.  Thus  the  Prussian  duties  were  avoided. 

14  A  similar  order  had  been  issued  the  year  before.  See  H.  Z.,  1911,  206 
In  a  report  of  1572  Julius  mentioned  the  ruined  mines  (Magnelgruberi)  near 
this  road.  Giinther,  Der  Harz,  132.  The  monastery  of  Walkenried  undoubt- 
edly used  this  road  for  transporting  the  share  of  the  Rammelsberg  ore  which 
was  given  it  in  the  twelfth  century.  The  road  also  went  by  other  names. 
See  Fischer,  Alle  Strassen,  etc.,  H.  Z.,  1911,  185  ff. 


104  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,   1514-1589 

improve  the  roads  through  the  Harz  for  the  transport  of  the 
wares  from  his  mines.  The  subject  was  under  frequent  discus- 
sion and  in  1579  the  duke  announced  that  the  officials  of 
the  district  would  be  dismissed  if  repairs  were  not  made 
on  a  road  over  which  coal  was  carried.15  A  road  import- 
ant for  sending  out  mine  products  traversed  the  Harz  from 
north  to  south,  from  Ilsenburg  through  Elend  to  Ellrich 
(Elendstrasse.)1*  Farther  east,  the  most  used  road  connected 
Wernigerode  with  Nordhausen,  and  the  Leipzigerstrasse.  These 
Harz  roads  formed  a  link  between  the  trading  cities  of  the  north 
and  Thiiringia  and  Franconia.17  The  connection  of  Harzburg 
and  Goslar  with  Osterode  by  road  is  probably  older  than  the  mine 
cities  of  Wildemann  andZellerfeld.  This  thoroughfare  passed  the 
monastery  of  Celle  and  was  a  military  road,  but  after  the  dis- 
covery of  salt  at  Harzburg  (1569)  it  was  much  used  for  carrying 
salt  to  the  mine  cities. 

From  the  early  days  of  the  Hanse,  the  league  arranged  for  a 
transport  and  messenger  service.  The  most  important  route 
through  the  lower  Saxon  circle  from  the  beginning  of  the  four- 
teenth to  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  from  Nurem- 
berg through  Brunswick  and  Celle  to  Hamburg.  At  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century  Nuremberg,  the  great  center  for  Italian  goods, 
took  charge  of  the  weekly  transport.  There  were  regular  rates  for 
wares  and  travelers.  At  this  time  two  wagons  started  every 
Saturday  from  Hanover  to  Hamburg.18  Brunswick,  head  of  the 
league  of  Saxon  cities,  and  an  important  member  of  the  Hanse, 
had  a  large  trade  with  Hamburg  and  as  early  as  the  fourteenth 
century  despatched  post  riders  to  such  neighboring  cities  as 
Hildesheim  and  Goslar.19  Henry  the  Younger  was  the  founder  of 
a  government  messenger  service  in  his  duchy.  Before  his  time 

16  Bodemann,  Die  Volkswirthschaft,  etc.,  211;  Gunther,  H.  Z.,  1913,  143. 
The  question  of  the  exact  routes  and  names  of  these  roads  is  an  intricate  one. 
See  Fischer,  Alte  Strassen,  etc.,  H.  Z.,  1911,  175. 

le  Gunther,  Der  Harz,  134,  136. 

17  From  Thuringia  an  important  road  led  to  Frankfort  by  way  of  Bam- 
berg. 

18  Bernhards,  Zur  Entwickelung  des  Postwesens  in  Braunschweig-Ltineburg, 
Z.  N.S.,  1912,  7. 

19  Schucht,  Braunschweig  Magazin,  1897,  137. 


RELATION  OF  THE  HARZ  MINES  TO  TRADE  AND  TRADE  ROUTES    105 

there  had  been  a  very  restricted  system  of  communication.  He 
sent  regular  messengers  from  the  court  at  Wolfenbiittel,  by  way  of 
Seesen  and  Herzberg  to  Coburg,  Bamberg  and  Ansbach.  There 
was  also  a  postal  system  with  the  Spanish  Netherlands  for  com- 
munication between  the  king  of  Spain  and  the  princes  of  Bruns- 
wick. Religious  and  political  motives  caused  Julius  to  abandon 
this  service.20  Henry's  messenger  system  served  only  the  court. 
Julius  planned  to  enlarge  it  for  the  use  of  the  people,  and  tried  to 
interest  the  duke  of  Calenberg  in  such  a  venture  (1586).  It  was 
to  be  regular  so  that  officials  need  not  send  special  messengers. 
For  some  reason  this  plan  never  materialized.  Enlarging  on 
Henry's  system  Julius  had  a  regular  messenger  service  with  such 
neighboring  states  as  Saxony,  Hesse  and  Ansbach  which  operated 
between  the  cities  of  Wolfenbuttel,  Halberstadt,  Leipzig,  Dresden, 
Magdeburg,  Coburg,  Gotha,  Heidelberg,  etc. 

There  was  a  great  increase  of  rqbbery  and  private  warfare 
in  Germany  towards  the  end  of  the  tif  teenth  century.  A  perpetual 
peace  had  been  declared  at  the  Diet  held  at  Worms  in  1495, 
and  in  1546  Charles  V  met  the  princes  of  the  lower  and 
upper  Saxon  and  Westphalian  circles  to  consider  how  the  danger 
from  highway  robbers  might  be  averted.  Burghers  were  not  safe 
in  their  own  houses;  horse  stealing  was  common;  and  travelers 
and  merchants,  even  though  they  carried  arms  and  were  accom- 
panied by  dogs,  were  in  grave  danger.21  The  princes  met  the 
problem  by  improving  the  condition  of  the  roads  hoping  thus  to 
gain  security  for  those  who  used  them.  Duke  Ernest  of  Liineburg, 
having  heard  of  an  attack  on  merchants  in  his  dominion  joined 
them  and  helped  put  the  robbers  to  flight.22  Henry  the  Younger 
seems  to  have  winked  at  freebooters  if  he  did  not  actually  protect 
them,  especially  when  their  activities  were  directed  against  his 
dearest  foe,  the  city  of  Brunswick.  Rehtmeier  tells  the  story 
of  a  knight  of  Mecklenburg  who  lived  at  Henry's  court  and 
supported  himself  and  his  band  of  fifteen  by  lying  in  wait  for 
unwary  travelers  "often  also  those  from  Brunswick. "  The 
insecurity  of  the  roads  was  one  of  the  points  at  issue  in  the  quarrel 
between  Henry  and  Brunswick.  In  the  deliberations  of  1541  the 

20  Bernhards,  op.  cit.,  4;  Schucht,  op.  cit.,  147,  149. 

21  Deichert,  Freibeuter  und  fahrende  Leute,  etc.,  H.  G.  B.,  1908,  313  ff.; 
Kaser,  op.  cit.,  449. 

22  Rehtmeier,  op.  cit.,  1347. 


106  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

city  complained  "that  the  duke's  riders  prevented  merchants 
from  journeying  to  the  fair  at  Leipzig."23  The  burghers  were  so 
convinced  of  the  duke's  indifference  to  the  many  highway  rob- 
beries which  befell  the  merchants  of  their  city  that  at  a  wedding 
in  the  village  of  Barbke  they  took  several  of  the  duke's  officials 
prisoner  (1550).  The  agreement  of  1553,  as  well  as  one  of  1561, 
arranged  for  free  and  safe  transport  of  goods  belonging  to  the 
city,  and  payment  of  the  taxes  due  to  Henry.24  The  safety  of  the 
roads  was  essential  to  the  success  of  Julius'  commercial  enter- 
prises and  he  made  strong  and  untiring  efforts  to  gain  the  desired 
end.  In  an  edict  of  1570,  Julius  complained  of  highwaymen  and 
ordered  his  officials  to  drive  them  from  the  country.  But  the 
evil  was  of  too  long  standing  to  be  easily  uprooted  and  an  edict  of 
1584  shows  that  bad  conditions  persisted.  In  it  Julius  ordered  his 
officials  to  arrest  the  robbers  and  convey  them  to  the  nearest 
court  for  trial.25 

In  spite  of  the  discovery  of  the  sea  route  to  India 
which  made  Portugal  rather  than  Venice  the  distributing 
point  for  eastern  goods,  the  sixteenth  century  was  a  time  of 
great  prosperity  for  the  cities  of  northern  Germany,  especially  the 
coast  towns  and  those  located  on  navigable  rivers.  Liibeck  may 
be  taken  as  a  type  of  the  city  which  enjoyed  an  access  of  prosperity 
due  to  the  growing  trade  in  Indian  goods  and  the  influx  of  metals 
from  America.  The  tax  lists  show  that  the  number  of  ships  which 
entered  the  harbor  annually  mounted  from  795  in  1497  to  5295 
in  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.26  The  shipping  of  Bremen, 
Hamburg  and  Amsterdam  also  showed  a  similar  increase.  The 
ships  registered  as  passing  out  to  sea  were  often  owned  in  smaller 
cities,  such  as  Oldenburg,  Liineburg  and  Hanover  which  were 
located  on  navigable  rivers.  Gottingen  was  a  type  of  the  city 
which  owed  its  importance  to  its  position  on  a  great  land  route. 
It  was  a  place  of  deposit  for  goods  which  were  being  transported 

23  Hassebrauk,  Heinrich  der  Jilngere,  etc.,  35. 

24  Ibid.,  60;   Braunschweig  Hofgerichtsordnung,  Transactio   inter   Henri- 
cum  luniorem  et  civitatem  Brunsvicens. 

25  Bodemann,  Die  Volkswirthschaft,  etc.,  212,  213. 

26  Schafer,  Niedersachsen  und  die  See.    Z.  N.S.,  1909,  12  ff. 

Among  these  were  ships  belonging  to  Duke  Julius  manned  by  citizens  of 
the  city  of  Brunswick  and  flying  its  flag.  These  ships  plied  between  Liibeck 
and  Russia  and  exchanged  the  products  of  the  Harz  mines  for  such  Russian 
luxuries  as  furs,  malachite,  etc.  Hassebrauk,  Julius,  etc.,  50. 


RELATION  OF  THE  HARZ  MINES  TO  TRADE  AND  TRADE  ROUTES    107 

between  Liibeck,  Hamburg  and  Limeburg  in  the  north  and 
Nuremberg  and  Frankfort  in  the  south.27  Brunswick,  one  of 
the  most  important  towns  of  north  Germany  lay  within  the 
Brunswick- Wolf  enbiittel  lands.  Sebastian  Minister  said  of  it: 
"In  our  times  Brunswick  is  the  most  prosperous  as  well  as  the 
largest  city  in  Saxony.  It  is  well  built  with  walls,  moats  and 
towers  and  adorned  with  beautiful  houses,  fine  streets  and  large 
and  handsome  churches."28  The  Oker  was  navigable  as  far  as 
Brunswick,  and  at  this  point  two  important  trade  routes  inter- 
sected. Though  Brunswick  never  attained  its  ambition  of  becom- 
ing a  free  imperial  city  it  was  practically  self-governing  and  the 
ordinances  passed  by  the  city  council  were  the  careful  regulations 
necessary  for  a  great  industrial  centre.  An  old  right  won  from 
the  princes  allowed  the  citizens  of  the  city  to  trade  free  of  taxes 
throughout  the  duchy,29  and  during  the  sixteenth  century  the 
town  often  acted  independently  of  the  duke  in  prohibiting  the 
import  and  export  of  certain  commodities.30  All  business  was 
carefully  regulated  and  relative  values  are  to  be  inferred  from  the 
number  and  strictness  of  the  ordinances  governing  different 
trades.  Brewing  stood  easily  first  among  the  city  industries  and 
every  detail  of  the  conditions  under  which  beer  might  be  made 
was  carefully  regulated.  In  fact  the  brewers  of  the  city  of 
Brunswick  maintained  a  sort  of  beer  monopoly  throughout  a 
large  part  of  the  duchy.31 

17  Zeiller,  op.  cit.,  94. 

88  Cosmographia,  lib.  Ill,  cap,  444. 

"Hassebrauk,  Heinrich  der  Jiingere,  etc.,  11.  The  city  of  course  paid 
other  taxes  to  the  duke.  See  text  of  the  agreement  of  1553,  Rehtmeier,  op. 
cit.,  925  ff.  The  duke  also  claimed  the  right  to  have  the  imperial  taxes  of 
the  city  paid  through  him.  Brunswick  naturally  preferred  to  pay  such  taxes 
into  the  treasury  of  the  lower  Saxon  cities  at  Hanover,  and  did  so  whenever 
she  was  strong  enough.  Achilles,  Die  Beziehungen  der  Stadt  Braunschweig 
turn  Reich,  42  ff.  See  above  38. 

30Schmoller,  Mercantile  System,  29;  Urkundenbuch  der  Stadt  Braun- 
schweig 424. 

81  Hassebrauk,  Julius,  etc.,  52.  One  of  the  points  at  issue  between  both 
Henry  and  Julius  and  Brunswick  was  this  question  of  brewing.  The 
burghers  complained  that  the  princes  encroached  on  their  rights.  Many  laws 
governing  this  industry  are  printed  in  the  Urkundenbuch  der  Stadt  Braun- 
schweig. A  certain  beer  produced  in  Brunswick  was  largely  exported  to 
Holland  and  England,  because  it  was  the  only  beer  which  could  be  carried 
across  the  equator  without  spoiling.  Ibid.,  41. 


108  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,   1514-1589 

The  chief  articles  of  commerce  produced  in  north  Germany 
were  grain,  flax,  hemp,  furs,  wax,  salt,  forest  and  mine  products, 
glass,  woolen  goods,  beer,  smoked  fish  and  food  of  all  kinds. 
Agriculture  was  encouraged  by  the  dukes  of  Brunswick  even  in 
the  mine  towns  and  generally  speaking  farming  and  cattle  raising 
created  the  chief  wealth  of  the  fertile  low  lands  of  the  northern 
part  of  the  duchy.32  The  growing  of  flax  was  of  importance  in 
this  district  as  early  as  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries 
and  the  linen  produced  here  had  -a  reputation  even  outside  the 
country  and  was  a  chief  article  of  commerce  throughout 
Saxony,  in  Westphalia  and  in  foreign  countries.33  The  impor- 
tance of  sheep  raising  may  be  estimated  from  the  ordinance 
prepared  by  Henry  the  Younger  in  1562.  This  regulated  the 
business  carefully  and  was  submitted  to  the  estates  but  not 
accepted.34  The  manufacture  of  wool  had  been  considerable  from 
the  end  of  the  Middle  Ages  when  weavers  from  Flanders  settled 
in  north  Germany.35  The  industry  was  of  such  great  importance 
throughout  Germany  as  to  be  the  subject  of  frequent  legislation 
in  the  Diet  where  the  quality  of  the  cloth  and  the  conditions  of  its 
sale  were  regulated  in  the  sixteenth  century.36  The  German 
wool  manufacturers  were  so  troubled  by  English  competition 
that  a  representative  of  Julius  of  Brunswick  brought  their  com- 
plaints before  the  Diet  which  met  at  Augsburg  in  1582.  The 
grievance  was  that  the  German  cities,  particularly  Liibeck  and 
Cologne,  had  lost  their  privileges  in  the  Steelyard  in  London. 
Formerly  the  Germans  had  imported  English  cloth  into  Germany 
but  this  profitable  business  had  been  taken  from  them  by  the 
English  who  sold  their  cloth  in  Germany  at  any  price  they  pleased. 
Julius  proposed  to  cure  the  evil  through  a  law  which  should  allow 
Germans  to  wear  only  domestic  cloth.37  'This  would  have  been 
especially  favorable  for  the  duchy  of  Brunswick  for  cloth  making 

32  Zeiller,  op.  cit.,  197.    Wine  was  never  of  economic  importance  in  the 
Harz,  but  grapes  could  be  grown  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountains.    Henry  and 
Julius  both  encouraged  the  industry,  the  former  going  so  far  as  to  offer  a 
bonus  on  all  wine  produced.    H.  Z.,  1875,  293;  1870,  367,  726. 

33  Hornung,  Entwickelung  und  Niedergang  des  Hannover schen  Leinwand- 
industrie.    Zeiller,  op.  cit.,  161,  197. 

34  Von  Billow,  op.  cit.,  72. 
36  Z.  N.S.,  1896,478. 

36  Heiligen  Romischen  Reichs  Ordnungen,  1530,  1548,  1559, 1570. 

37  Bodeman,  Herzog  Julius  von  Braunschweig,  etc.,  48  ff. 


RELATION  OF  THE  HARZ  MINES  TO  TRADE  AND  TRADE  ROUTES    109 

was  one  of  the  most  profitable  occupations  of  the  city  of  Bruns- 
wick and  the  chief  one  of  Gottingen  where  in  1475  there  were  800 
master  weavers.38 

The  export  of  raw  metals  from  Germany  increased  during  the 
sixteenth  century  until  the  loss  of  silver  was  considered  so  serious 
that  the  propriety  of  forbidding  the  princes  to  sell  unminted 
silver  to  foreigners  was  discussed  in  the  Diet.39  The  raw  products 
of  the  Harz  mines  were  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  Empire,  especially 
lead  from  the  Rammelsberg  which  was  greatly  used  in  Thiiringia, 
Bohemia  and  Saxony.40  Julius  was  far  from  being  the  only  prince 
who  carried  on  a  trade  in  mine  products.  His  neighbors  on  the 
east,  the  counts  of  Stolberg  had  a  prosperous  business  in 
brass  ware  with  the  commercial  houses  of  south  Germany,  the 
Rhine  cities,  those  on  the  North  Sea  and  in  the  Netherlands,  and 
even  with  Russia.  In  1524  the  count  of  Mansfeld  established 
copper  smelters  in  his  Thiiringian  forests.  The  count  of  Stolberg 
and  Philip  of  the  B  runs  wick- Grubenhagen  line  also  invested  in 
this  venture.41  The  manufacture  of  metals  was  of  tremendous 
economic  and  artistic  importance  in  Germany.  In  the  sixteenth 
century  Nuremberg  and  Aachen  were  the  centres  of  this  industry, 
the  middle  Rhine  district  being  the  more  prosperous.  Copper 
and  brass  were  manufactured  in  many  places  between  Antwerp 
and  Cologne.  The  Welsers  of  Nuremberg  had  a  permanent  store 
house  in  Antwerp,  but  the  Fuggers  did  an  even  larger  business 
there,  for  between  1526  and  1539  they  brought  annually  12,000 
hundredweight  of  Hungarian  copper  to  that  city.  Antwerp  was 
also  an  important  lead  market.42  Liineburg  too  had  a  thriving 
copper  trade.  The  Fuggers  deposited  about  43,000  hundred- 

38  Zeiller,  op.  cit.,  95.    A  contract  made  by  Wolfgang,  count  of  Stolberg, 
whose  lands  adjoined  Brunswick  on  the  east,  with  a  merchant  who  was  com- 
missioned by  the  Tsar  of  Russia  to  buy  wool  in  Germany  has  been  preserved. 
For  five  years  all  the  wool  produced  on  the  Stolberg  lands  was  to  be  delivered 
to  the  merchant  in  Brunswick  or  Halberstadt  at  the  price  current  at  the 
Frankfort  or  Leipzig  fair.     The  wool  was  evidently  not  manufactured. 
Jacobs,  Zur  Geschichte  des  harzischen  Handels,  H.  Z.,  1869,  part  3,  150. 

39  Reichstagakten,  Jungere  Reihe,  IV,  509  ff.;  Falke,  Deutsche  Handels, 
II,  368. 

40  Crusius,  op.  cit.,  258. 

41  Mollenberg,  Die  Eroberung  des  Weltmarkts  durch  das  mansfeldische 
Kupfer,  17,  27. 

42  Ibid.,  36,  46,  49,  50. 


110  THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 

weight  of  copper  there  between  1526  and  1539.  This  was 
probably  used  in  making  the  bells  for  which  Liineburg  was 
famous.43  The  manufacture  of  metals  was  widespread.  Almost 
every  city  in  Germany  produced  copper  and  brass  utensils  and 
silversmiths  and  ironsmiths  were  important  people  in  Brunswick 
as  well  as  in  many  other  towns.  The  use  of  metals  for  money 
is  connected  with  the  serious  problem  of  a  uniform  currency  for  the 
Empire.  During  the  sixteenth  century  this  matter  was  under 
frequent  discussion  in  the  Diet.  The  suggestion  was  made  at 
Nuremberg  (1524)  that  all  the  silver  produced  in  Germany  for 
ten  years  should  be  sold  at  market  price  to  the  government  to  be 
used  in  the  imperial  mints.44  The  reform  was  opposed  by  the 
princes,  especially  those  whose  lands  produced  silver.  They 
deprived  the  towns  of  the  right  of  coinage  while  guarding  jeal- 
ously the  privilege  for  themselves. 

Forests  were  of  the  greatest  importance  as  a  source  of  fuel  for 
smelting.  The  Fuggers  found  it  profitable  to  establish  a  smelting- 
house  for  Hungarian  copper  in  the  woods  of  Thiiringia,  and  it 
was  the  Harz  forests  which  made  possible  the  successful  mining 
enterprises  of  the  dukes  of  Brunswick.  But  the  wood  of  the  Harz 
was  of  economic  importance  aside  from  its  use  as  fuel,  for  it  was 
suitable  for  the  beautiful  plaster  and  timber  house  architecture 
which  reached  its  highest  development  in  Germany.  The  pine 
found  in  the  higher  mountains  was  particularly  good  for  such 
work.  Halberstadt  was  the  centre  of  the  wood  trade.  Bruns- 
wick, Wolfenbuttel  and  other  less  important  towns  on  the 
Brunswick  lands  got  their  building  wood  from  the  forests  of  the 
counts  of  Stolberg  who  monopolized  this  trade  in  their  dpmin- 
ions.46  The  Harz  forests  also  provided  fuel  for  glass  blowers. 
Zeiller  describes  an  establishment  in  the  woods  near  Greene.  In 
each  of  two  buildings  twenty  four  glass  blowers  worked  day  and 
night.  Not  only  wine  and  beer  glasses  were  made,  but  also 
beautiful  stained  glass  window-panes.  This  glass  was  exported 

43  Mollenberg,  Die  Eroberung  des  Weltmarkts  durch  das  mansfeldische 
Kupfer,  39;  Z.  N.S.,  1896,  500;  Neu  Vaterlandische  Archiv,  1831,  172. 

44  Reichstagakten,  Jungere  Reihe,  IV,  509,  n.  3;    Schmoller,  Mercantile 
System,  35  ff . ;  Urkundenbuch  Hameln,  No.  776.    The  Count  of  Mansfeld  tried 
in  vain  to  prohibit  the  export  of  silver  from  his  lands  in  1527.    Mollenberg, 
op.  cit.,  35. 

45  Jacobs,   Zur  Geschichte  des  harzischen  Handels  im   16  Jahrhundert, 
H.  Z.,  1869,  145,  151  ff. 


RELATION  OF  THE  HARZ  MINES  TO  TRADE  AND  TRADE  ROUTES    111 

to  Holland  "and  from  there  carried  to  other  distant  lands." 
Glass  making  was  an  important  industry  in  the  Harz  about 
1500,  but  it  never  recovered  from  the  destruction  of  the  furnaces 
during  the  Peasants'  Revolt.46 

Fairs  and  markets  figure  largely  in  connection  with  sixteenth 
century  trade.  Among  the  most  important  fairs  in  Germany 
were  those  held  at  Leipzig,  Frankfort  and  Naumburg.  Merchants 
gathered  from  all  points  of  the  compass  in  Leipzig  at  fair  time, 
but  the  Frankfort  fair  ranked  first  among  German  fairs  in  inter- 
national trade  and  exchange.47  Market  privileges  were  given  by 
emperor  or  prince  and  included  safe  conduct  to  and  from  the  market, 
protection  of  merchants  and  goods  while  at  the  market,  favorable 
conditions  of  sale,  etc.  Such  were  the  privileges  given  by  Charles 
V  to  the  city  of  Brunswick  in  1521.  In  addition  each  market  was 
most  carefully  regulated  by  the  local  authorities.  At  Hanover 
there  were  quarterly  markets  which  attracted  merchants  from  all 
over  Europe.  Princes  often  advertised  that  merchants  passing 
through  their  dominions  on  the  way  to  great  fairs  would  be  sure 
of  protection.48  The  importance  of  these  great  international 
meeting  places  cannot  be  overestimated.  They  necessitated 
improved  communication  and  at  them  men  exchanged  not  only 
commodities  but  ideas.  Knowledge  and  culture  as  well  as  neces- 
sities and  luxuries  were  carried  over  the  trade  routes. 

Such,  in  briefest  outline  were  the  conditions  governing  German 
trade  and  commerce  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Against  this  vast 
background  the  activities  of  Henry  and  Julius  of  Brunswick 
should  be  seen  in  their  true  perspective.  Germany  teemed  with 
manifold  commercial  life  of  which  one  phase,  in  a  small  state  of 
the  Empire  has  been  the  subject  of  this  study. 

^Zeiller,  op.  cit.,  96,  97.  Fischer,  Die  Alte  Wasserwirthschaft  und 
Industrie  im  Amte  Harzburg,  Z.  H.,  1913,  209.  Of  course  in  the  Harz  saw- 
mills were  of  great  importance.  They,  as  well  as  the  mills  for  grinding  corn, 
were  run  by  waterpower.  Ibid .,  207. 

47  Mollenberg,  op.  cit.,  53,  40. 

48  Alterthiimer,  Braunschweig,  98.     The  court  regulations  of  Henry  the 
Younger  (1533)  directed  that  saffron,  pepper,  sugar,  almonds,  olives,  capers, 
and  other  spices  be  bought  in  Peter  and  Paul's  market  at  Nuremberg  or  at 
the  yearly  fair  in  Leipzig.    Herring,  eels,  salmon  and  other  sorts  of  fish  must 
come  from  Liineburg;  honey  and  strangely  enough,  salt,  were  to  be  purchased 
in  Brunswick.    H.Z.,  1875,  291,  293. 


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Die  Organization  der  Oberharz  Bergwerks  Verfassung  durch  Herzog 

Julius.     Hanover,  1864. 
MERKEL,  J.: 

Der  Kampf  des  Fremdrechtes  mit  dem  einheimischen  Rechte  in  Braun- 

schweig-Liineburg.     Hanover,  1904. 

Julius   Herzog  von  Braunschweig  und  Luneburg.     Z.  K.  G.  fur  N.  S. 

1896. 
MEYER,  F.  J.  F.: 

Versuch  einer  Geschichte  der  Bergwerks  Verfassung,  etc.     Eisenach, 

1817. 
MEYER,  P.  J.: 

Untersuchungen  zur  Geschichte  der  Stadt  Wolfenbuttel.     Jb.  G.  V.  B. 

1902. 

M6LLENBERG,  W.  I 

Die  Eroberung  des    Weltmarkts    durch    das   Mansfeldische   Kupfer. 

Gotha,  1911. 
NEUBURG,  C.: 

Goslar's  Bergbau  bis  1552.     Hanover,  1892. 
OEHR,  G.: 

Landliche   Verhaltnisse   im   Herzogthum   Braunschweig- Wolfenbuttel. 

Hanover,  1903. 
SACK,  R.: 

Herzog  Julius    von    Braunschweig-Liineburg    als    Fabrikant,    H.    Z. 

1870. 
SCHAFER,  D.: 

Niedersachsen  und  die  See.  Z.  N.  S.     1909. 
SCHELL,  FR.: 

Die  vormalige  Bergbau  und  seine  Freiheiten,  etc.     H.  Z.     1883. 
SCHMIDT,  H.: 

Der  Einfluss  der  alten  Handelswege  in  Niedersachsen,  etc.    Z.  N.  S. 

1896. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  117 

SCHMOLLER,  G.t 

Die  Geschichtliche  Entwickelung  der  Unternehmung.     Jahrbuch  fur 
Gesetzgeburg,  XV. 

The  Mercantile  System.     New  York,  1896. 

SCHUCHT,  R.: 

Das  Postwesen  in  Braunschwieg.     Braunschweig  Magazin.     1897. 
WAITZ,  GEORGE: 

Jahrbiicher  des  Deutschen  Reichs  unter  Konig  Heinrich  I.     Leipzig, 

1885. 
WEDDING,  H.: 

Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  des  Eisenhiittenwesens  im  Harz.     H.  Z.     1881. 
WIENER,  M.: 

Die  Juden  unter  den  Braunschweigischen  Herzogen  Julius  und  Heinrich 

Julius.  Z.  N.  S.     1861. 
WOLF,  G.: 

Zur  Gefangennahme  Heinrichs  von  Braunschweig.     Archiv  fur  Sachs. 

Gesch.     1905. 
ZIMMERMAN,  P.: 

Herzog  Julius  zu  Braunschweig  und  Luneburg  in  volkswirtschaftlicher 

Beziehung.     H.  G.  B.     1904-5. 
ZYCHA,  A.: 

Das  Recht  des  Altesten  Deutschen  Bergbaues.     Berlin,  1899. 


INDEX 


Albert  of  Brandenburg,  36,  58 

Albert,  Duke,  the  Great,  19 

Andreasberg,  76 

Annalista  Saxo,  15 

Archbishop  Albert  of  Mainz  and  Madge- 
burg,  31 

Architecture,  110 

Articles  of  Commerce  of  North  Germany, 
108 

Associates  or  Shareholders,  44 

Augsburg  Confession,  67,  90 

Augsburg,  Diet  of,  25,  27,  41,  108 

August  of  Saxony,  80 

August  the  Younger,  61 

Barbarossa,  18,  90 

Bishop  of  Hildesheim,  26 

Bishopric  of  Halberstadt,  67  n. 

Black  Death,  1,  19,  53,  71 

Board  of  Eight,  43 

Bookkeeper,  45 

Brass,  109 

Brunswick,  82n.,  83,  107,  109,  111;  and 
Henry  the  Younger,  37;  division  of 
lands  of,  20,  63;  Great  Treaty  of,  40; 
head  divisions  of,  20  n. ;  importance  of 
location,  102;  inherited  by  Henry  the 
Younger,  23;  lands  under  League  of 
Schmalkald,  33,  56;  Quarrel  with 
Henry  the  Younger,  81;  Quarrel  with 
Julius,  81 ;  Question  of  lands  discussed 
in  Diets,  34;  Reformation  of,  37 

Buntheim,  74 

Calenburg,  4,  88.     See  Erich. 

Catholic  League,  31 

Celle,  83,  103 

Charlemagne,  7 

Charles  V,  24,  27,  34,  35,  101,  105,  111 

Clausthal,  60 

Constance,  diet  of,  37 


Count  of  Mansfeld,  95,  109 
Count  Wolradt  of  Mansfeld,  36 
Counts  of  Honstein,  48  n. 
Counts  of  Stolberg,  109,  1 10 
Currency,  110 

Diet  of  1524,  110 

Diet  of  Augsburg,  25,  27,  41,  108 

Diet  of  Regensburg,  38 

Diet  of  Speier,  34 

Diet  of  Worms,  25,  34,  105 

Doctor  Mynsinger  of   Frundeck,  64,  87 

Duke  Ernest  of  Liineburg,  105 

Duke  George  of  Saxony,  25,  42 

Duke  Henry,  96 

Duke  Julius,  106 

Duke  Philip,  4 

Duke  Ulrich,  31 

Duke  William  the  Younger,  20 

Duke  Wulff ,  4 

Dukes  of  Brunswick,  1 10 

Duties  of  Mine  Officials,  45 

Eastward  Expansion  of  the  Germans,  6 

Edict  of  Regensburg,  27,  28 

Electors:  Joachim,  31;  John   Frederick, 
33  n. 

Electors  of  the  Palatine,  34 

Elisabeth,  20,  21,  42,  50,  73,  90 
'Emperors:  Charles  V,  23,  31,  37;  Fred- 
erick, 17;  Frederick  II,  Creations  of 
duchy  of  B-L.,  18;  Frederick  I, 
Grant  of  Harz  forests  to  Henry  the 
Lion,  19;  Rudolph,  83 

English  Cloth,  108 

Erich  of   Brunswick-Calenberg,   24 

Erich    the    Elder    of    Calenberg,     20, 
36,  70,  71 

Ernest,  52,  52  n. 

Erzgebirge,   42;   discovery   of   lead,    18 

Eva  von  Trott,  98 


119 


120 


THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,   1514—1589 


Fairs,  111 

Ferdinand,  24 

Flanders,  weavers,  108 

Foreman,  44 

Forests,  110 

Francis  I,  34 

Frederick  I,  7 

Frederick  Barbarossa,  18,  90 

Frundeck,  Dr.  Mynsinger  of,  64,  87 

Fuggers,  109,  110 

Game  laws,  99 

George  of  Saxony,  25,  31,  42 

German  Mining,  a  Colonization  Move- 
ment, 7,  9 

German  Wool,  108 

Gittelde,  30,  73,  74,  78,  80,  88 

Glass,  110 

Goslar,  76,  78n.,  80,  88,  95,  96,  102,  103, 
104;  Quarrel  with  Henry  the  Younger, 
25 ;  Quarrel  with  Julius,  86 

Gottingen,  88 

Great  Treaty,  40 

Grubenhagen,  52n,  60;  line,  4,  28;  mines 
of,  49  n.,  52  n. 

Grund,  30,  42, 49,  50,  51,  52,  53,  56,  56  n., 
59,  60,  61  n.,  73,  78,  94,  95,  99 

Hake,  1,  1  n.,  3,  5,  14  n.,  94,  98;  author- 
ity, 14;  discovery  of  ore,  14 

Halberstadt,  26 

Hanse,  102,  104 

Harz,  First  miners  of  Frankish  stock,  6, 
15;  discovery  of  ore,  16 

Harz  Mines,  109;  revival  of  Sixteenth 
Century,  48  n. 

Harzburg,  77 

Heinrichstadt,  84,  85 

Helmstedt,  68  n. 

Henry  II,  6  n.,  15,  17 

Henry  IV,  17 

Henry  V,  17 

Henry  and  his  son  Maurice,  31 

Henry  Julius,  67  n.,  89 

Henry  of  Brunswick,  31,  67  n. 

Henry  the  Elder,  36,  63 

Henry  the  Elder  of  Wolfenbuttel,  20,  23, 
25,  26  n. 


Henry  the  Lion,  18,  18  n.,  90 

Henry  the  Fowler,  15 

Henry  the  Younger,  2,  24,  25,  66,  73,  81, 
98,  101,  108,  llln.;  alliance  with 
King  Ferdinand  and  Maurice  of 
Saxony,  36;  a  debt  to  Gaslar,  27  n.; 
and  city  of  Brunswick,  37;  and  Gos- 
lar, 38,  57;  attacked  by  pamphlets, 
31;  character  of,  63,  100;  charter  of 
1524,  1532,  1536,  1556,  58;  charter  of 
1554,  1556,  58;  charter  of  1553,  52  n.; 
code  for  Gittelde,  46  n.;  code  of 
Justice,  64;  court  regulations,  111  n.; 
driven  upon  lands,  33;  establishes 
messenger  service,  104;  forest  regula- 
tions, 78;  highway  robbery,  105; 
marriage  of,  66;  mining  charter  of 
1532,  49;  mining  code  of  1550,  51; 
mining  code  of  1555,  51;  mining 
management,  62;  mining  privileges  of 
1524,  47;  mining  relations  with  offi- 
cials, 61;  mint  at  Goslar,  76;  plans 
to  buy  back  Rammelsburg,  26; 
quarrel  with  Brunswick,  107;  rela- 
tion with  subjects,  95,  97,  99;  religion 
of,  41;  taken  prisoner,  35 
Highway  robbery,  105 
Hildesheim,  26, 102,  103, 104;  feud  of,  24, 

37 

Hockelheim,  34 
Honstein,  counts  of,  48  n. 

Iberge,  73 

Imperial  code  of  1555,  64 
Inspectors,  44 
Interim,  35,  39,  41 

Joachim  Mynsinger,  88 

Joachim  II  of  Brandenburg,  31 

Joachimsthal,  60 

Johannes  Mathesius,  2 

Julius,  2,  40,  56,  71;  character  of,  92; 
courage  of,  76;  currency,  76;  develop- 
ment of  Heinrichstadt,  85;  export  of 
wares,  79;  extension  of  territory,  88; 
extension  work  in  Upper  Harz,  71; 
forest  regulations,  78;  indifference 
toward  international  problem,  89; 


INDEX 


121 


interest  in  education,  68,  87;  interest 
in  science,  92 ;  internal  improvements, 
102,  103;  manufacture  of  artillery, 
75  n. ;  manufacture  of  metal  smelting, 
75;  manufacture  of  salt,  77;  marriage 
of,  67;  messenger  service,  105;  min- 
ing, 68,  71;  mining  codes  of  1579,  73; 
mining  privileges  in  1578,  mining 
production  of  iron,  72;  mining  produc- 
tion of  salt,  copper,  silver,  78;  mining 
production  of  lead,  iron,  copper,  74; 
mint  at  Goslar,  76;  organization  of 
new  lands,  89;  paternalism,  92;  peace 
policy  of,  91;  plans  for  internal 
improvement,  82;  production  of  mar- 
ble, 77;  quarrel  with  Brunswick,  81, 
82,  83,  84;  quarrel  with  Goslar,  86; 
relations  with  Brunswick,  81;  re- 
ligion of,  66,  67,  67  n.,  90;  reorganiza- 
tion of  army,  88;  safety  of  roads,  106; 
store  houses,  80;  taxation,  87;  treat- 
ment of  Jews,  84;  use  of  code,  77,  78; 
will  of,  89 
Julius  of  Brunswick,  1 1 1 

Karl  Victor,  35 
King  Ferdinand,  36 

Lambert  of  Hersfeld,  5 
Landgrave  Hans  of  Simmern,  34 
Lautenthal,  51,  51  n.,  52, 61  n. 
League  of  Schmalkald,  27,  31,  32,  33,  35, 

38 

Lohneisen,  43  n. 
Lohneyss,  87 
LUbeck,  106,  108 
Luneburg,  107,  109 
Luther,  32,  35 

Manager,  44,  46 

Manufacture  of  metals,  109 

Market  privileges,  111 

Markets,  111 

Martin  Chemnitz,  67  n. 

Master  of  mine,  43 

Maurice  of  Saxony,  33  n.,  34,  36 

Maximilian  II,  24,  37,  85  n.,  90 


Messenger  service,  104 

Mine  officials,  43 

Mine  organization,  43 

Mines,  building  of,  9;  city,  10;  codes,  7, 
11;  earlier  Upper  Harz,  21;  Gozlar 
and  Upper  Harz,  30;  in  the  mark  of 
Meissen,  6;  leases,  12;  organization  of, 
8;  organization  of  company,  13; 
ownership,  7;  shares,  11;  subsidies, 
11,  44;  Upper  Harz,  20  n.,  29  n. 

Miners,  privileges  given  to,  9.  12;  leases 
to,  12;  pay  of,  12 

Mining,  6;  justice,  10;  great  periods  of 
German,  10;  machinery,  53 

Monastery  of  Riddagshausen,  39 

Monastery  of  Riechenberg,  27 

Monastery  of  Walkenried,  18,  103 

Muhlberg,  35 

Miinzer,  25 

Mynsinger,  Dr.,  of  Frundeck,  64 

North  Germany,  108 


Oker,  82,  102 

Osse,  87 

Osterade,  76 

Otto,  18 

Otto  IV,  18 

Otto  of  Freising,  5 

Otto  the  Great,  6,  15,  15n.,  16 

Peace  of  Augsburg,  67,  91 

Peace  of  Cr£py,  34 

Peace  of  Quedlinburg,  24 

Peasant's  Revolt,  12,  25,  31,  37,  48,  110 

Penal  Code  of  Charles  V,  87 

Philip    of    the    Brunswick-Grubenhagen 

line,  109 

Philip  of  Grubenhagen,  39,  49 
Philip  of  Hesse,  25,  27,  32,  33  n.,  34,  39 
Postal  system,  105 
Private  life,  31 

Rammelsberg,  6,  14, 15, 16, 19,  23,  28,  52, 
62,  69,  70,  70  n.,  76,  77,  86,  103,  109; 
mortgaged  by  dukes,  26 


122 


THE  MINES  OF  THE  UPPER  HARZ,  1514-1589 


Rammelsberg  mine,   code  of   1494,   28; 

code  of  1544,  28;  code  of  1552,  28 
Regensburg,  32;  diet  of,  38 
Religion,  25 
Roman  Law,  68  n.,  87 
Romans,  6 
Roads  through  Harz  mountains,  103 

Saxon  code,  52 

Saxon  mining,  code,  43, 47;  general  use  of 

43;  introduction  into  Upper  Harz,  43; 

Shifts,  47 
Saxony,  36 
Schmalkald,  30 

Schmalkald  League.     See  League 
Schmalkald  War,  35 
Sea  Route  to  India,  101,  106 
Sebastian  Minister,  5 
Share  Clerk,  44 
Sheepraising,  108 
Sievershausen,  36,  39,  66 
"Small  Bishopric,"  24 
Sommering,  91 
Speier,  diet  of,  34 
Steelyard,  108 

Stollberg,  Counts  of,  109-10 
Stubenthal,  77 
Superintendent,  43 
Swabian  League,  32 

Tacitus,  5 

Taxation,  101  n.,  107 
Thietmar,  5 
Thirty  Years'  War,  91 


Trade  Routes  of  Germany,  101 
Transport  and  Messenger  Service,  104 
Turks,  38,  90 

University  of  Helmstedt,  87,  91 

Upper  Harz  and  Goslar,  30 

Upper  Harz,  mines  after  Henry's  return, 

51;    mines    reopened    in    Harz,    42; 

privileges  extended  to  Rammelsburg, 

29 

Value  of  precious  metals,  101 

Water-marks,  3,  4  n. 

Weavers  from  Flanders,  108 

Welsers,  109 

Wildemann,  30,  49,  50,  51,  52,  53,  54,  56, 
56  n.,  57  n.,  59,  60,  61  n.,  76,  94,  95, 
99,  104 

William,  23 

William  of  Hesse,  77,  90 

William  of  Liineburg,  83 

William  the  Younger,  63 

Wolfenbiittel,  39,  74,  78  n,  80,  82,  83, 
84,  85,  86,  88,  91,  92,  102;  line  inheri- 
tance, 89,  110 

Wolfgang,  Count  of  Stolberg,  109  n. 

Wolradt  of  Mansfeld,  36 

Wool,  109  n.,  110 

Worms,  diet  of,  25,  34,  105 

Wiirtemburg  lands,  31 

Zellerfeld,  19,  30,  49,  51,  52,  54,  54  n., 
56,  56  n.,  57  n.,  59,  60,  61  n.,  72,  76, 
77,  78  n.,  94,  95,  97,  103,  104 


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